Differences in Grief
by Fangirl Forevz
Summary: Nightwing, along with the newest Robin, are thrown into an alternate universe. This world is much darker than their own- crime is thought of as a game, the Justice League use murder as a punishment, the Court of Owls is the law enforcement, and people aren't who they are supposed to be. Did I mention that Dick Grayson is dead?
1. Travel Agent

**AN: I own nothing.**

 **Characters such as Kid Flash, Aqualad, Miss Martian, or any other known sidekick, will make an appearance later. Enjoy!**

xXx

Nightwing loved to show off.

Growing up in a circus was the main reason for that. Being raised to perform in front of a crowd made a serious impact on the way he fought. He couldn't help but do a flip in the air to dodge an attack, or do a series of hand springs to put some space between him and the bad guys. It was just what his brain was programmed to do. Actually, it was what his brain wanted to do. Showing off while he was in some sort of ridiculous costume was like a respectful nod towards his parents and his upbringing. He was a Flying Grayson, after all.

As he leapt through the air, there was a certain amount of grace in his movements that might have received some applause, or a look of awe, if he wasn't fighting a group of armed men.

"Enough with the theatrics, Nightwing." Robin was suddenly at his side, ramming a bostaff into a man's temple to knock him out. "I have a test to study for. You promised me that if I received perfect scores, we would attempt the quadruple flip again." He looked down at the fallen men with a sneer. "You taking your time here is an act of betrayal. If I don't learn the quadruple, I will take your head as compensation."

Nightwing chuckled and flipped over the form of an attacking man. Once on the ground, he turned around and sent a perfect kick at his attacker's head. "Lighten up, little wing. I'm sure that you'll ace the test without even trying. What's your sudden interest with the flip anyways? You've been bugging me about it for weeks!"

Robin collapsed his staff and stored it in his belt. "I have seen you use acrobatics to your advantage in battle. I only wish to learn it to better my own set of skills."

"I thought acrobatics were below you." The young man teased as he dragged the men together.

"I only said that relying only on acrobatics itself is a poor choice of a fighting style. I believe that adding your tricks to my own skill set will make me a better fighter." The boy tossed the man some rope, who used it to tie the group of criminals together.

"Is that so? I think that you only want to learn the quadruple because I always take you out for ice cream after each try." Without waiting for a response, Nightwing ran to the edge of the rooftop and threw himself off. Deep laughter pierced the air as he shot his grappling hook at a distant building. Wind ruffled his hair as he was pulled to his destination. He smiled cheerfully as he pressed a finger on the comm in his ear. "Hey, B. We handled the thugs and now we're on our way to your location."

 _'Understood. Maintain radio silence from this point on. The Joker's hideout is in sight.'_

"Understood. Nightwing out." At that moment, Robin landed next to him. "Took you long enough, kid. Bats says to keep radio silence, by the way. I guess he's close to the Joker now."

"I do not understand why that would be a surprise. The Joker is a simple buffoon and is easy to track." He folded his arms over his chest, actually showing the childish instincts he had. "And for your information, I do not wish to accomplish the quadruple flip just for a trip to the ice cream shop. Don't be ridiculous."

Nightwing simply smiled knowingly and ignored the glare that it brought him. While this kid's glare definitively was intense, it was nothing compared to the famous bat-glare. "The Joker is anything but simple, little bro. If he wasn't such a crazy maniac, boss would've let us go after him ourselves."

"-tt-"

The two of them simultaneously took out their grappling hooks again and swung down onto a lower building. Nightwing ran across the roof and ducked just beyond the edge, squinting as he watched the environment below. "This is where Batman's signal is."

Robin knelt down next to him, producing a pair of binoculars. "The perimeter is secure. If we move in now, we can assist Batman with the Joker." He moved to get up, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. "Unhand me at once."

Nightwing shook his head, but removed his hand anyways. "Don't you think it's suspicious that there aren't any guards out?"

"Father must have taken them down already. We are wasting time with your worrying nonsense."

"Still, this is the Joker that we're talking about. I think we would've heard some noise by now."

"-tt-" The man could almost hear the child's eye roll. Gosh, kids these days. "Perhaps Batman already brought the Joker down. The more time we waste, the angrier he will be. Come on, he won't want to be kept waiting."

"But-" Robin ignored his protests as swung down to the ground in front of the building, slipping inside immediately. "I don't get paid enough for this." He grumbled to himself as he quickly followed, sprinting in order to catch up. Once inside, Nightwing used his grappling hook to silently bring himself up to the rafters. Even if the Joker was already down, it wouldn't hurt to be careful. Robin must have thought the same, since the boy was up there as well. "You know, I never had to deal with this from Red Robin. From Red Hood, yes, but I doubt you want to be compared to him," he said in a harsh whisper.

"-tt-" Robin glared at him. "Be silent, Nightwing. If there is a criminal in here, we must have stealth on our side."

"What happened to 'Batman already took care of it,' huh?"

Another glare answered his question. Maybe the brat finally realized that he wasn't thinking about this the right way.

 _'Batman to Nightwing.'_

The man brought a hand up to his ear. "Nightwing here. What's up, B?"

Nightwing could picture the glare that was being directed at him for his unprofessional way of addressing him. _'The lead was a false one.'_ He paused. _'Care to tell me why yours and Robin's signals are on the other side of Gotham?'_

"Um, what? Batman, we're in the same building as you."

 _'...Where are you?"_

Sharing a look with Robin, Nightwing answered, "The abandoned candle factory on Whipple Street."

 _'I'm not there.'_

If Nightwing wasn't uneasy before, he definitely was now. "What? But-" He lowered his voice. "Someone must have messed with my ability to track your signal. There's foul play." He said this more for Robin's sake, who was starting to get confused by the one sided conversation he heard.

 _'Agreed. I'm tracking your signal as of now. Leave the premises of the building, but stay nearby. Once I am there, we will investigate the cause."_

"Understood. Nightwing out." He turned to look at the kid. "Well little wing, let's go." He jumped down from the rafters silently, the boy falling next to him.

The lights suddenly turned on. "Leaving so soon?" Someone asked teasingly. Wow. That was cliche.

In a flash, Nightwing had his escrima sticks drawn, and Robin had his staff ready. A pale man with dark green hair, wearing a purple suit, stood in front of the two, twirling a crowbar. On the left of the man stood a brown haired woman who wore a black and red dress with matching tights, which had a diamond pattern printed on them. Surrounding the couple were a few men with bulging muscles, who were obviously hired for their brawn, and not their brains. "Oh, what awful guests." The woman said with a pout. "Surely you aren't leavin' already?"

Nightwing smiled and twirled his weapons with ease. "Sorry, but Robin and I have other things to do. Maybe next time?"

The Joker grinned. "Ah, the original Boy Blunder."

"In the flesh." Nightwing said with a mock bow.

"Won't you stay a little while? For old times sake?" The clown waved a dagger in front of his face. "Gotham just isn't the same without you, birdy! It makes your dear uncle Joker sad."

Robin glanced at Nightwing, clenching his fists. 'I want to attack.' Was the silent message.

Nightwing gave him a tiny shake of the head, unseen by the others. 'Not a good idea.'

A scowl. 'What do you know? You're not my boss.'

Shoulders rose slightly in a shrug. 'Closest thing you have right now.'

A twitch in response. 'Where's Batman anyways?'

Nightwing's smile fell. 'No idea.'

'-tt-'

"Aww. The two are doing the silent bat-talk. Man, this brings me back to the old days." The Joker wiped away an invisible tear. "Now, to business." He shoved a gloved hand into his pocket and retrieved a gun from its depths. Nightwing narrowed his eyes, not recognizing what it was. This looked like some sort of laser gun that you saw in really bad sci-fi movies. "I've been needing someone to test this baby out on for ages!"

Robin snorted. "Good luck with that." He spat before rushing towards him. One of the muscle men got in the way of the attack, but was soon knocked unconscious by the scowling child.

Nightwing sighed. "I don't think I ever disobeyed my elders this much when I was a kid." He muttered to himself as he joined the battle, twisting away from one of the brutes and kicking his back to force him onto the ground.

"Kids these days, huh?" Nightwing barely avoided the swing of Harley's mallet, which would have broken some ribs if it had hit. "I remember when you was jus' a little one. You were always lettin' us finish speakin' before ya attacked us."

Soon, Nightwing was dodging attacks from both Harley and the Joker, who joined in on their conversation as well. "Right you are, Harls! These new kids that Batty's getting aren't nearly as fun as you used to be."

"I'm touched." Nightwing said dryly as he blocked a blow with an escrima stick. While he was distracted with that, the Joker managed to land a hit on his collar bone. Pain blossomed in the area and Nightwing was forced to simply exhale and ignore it. Even if his bone was broken, he wasn't going to let Robin fight these guys by himself.

"Aw, does little Nightwing have an ouchie?" Harley smirked. "I'll kiss it and make it all better, hon."

Nightwing fell to the ground purposely and swept her feet out from under her. As he stood, he gave her a charming smile. "Don't let the Joker hear you say that. I can't imagine how mad he'll be once he learns that you're trying to kiss me."

The woman scowled, but the vigilante was already moving away from her.

 _'Nightwing, I'm preoccupied.'_ Batman's voice suddenly said over the comm. _'You and Robin are to go back to the Bat Cave.'_

Nightwing ducked to avoid one of the beefy guys' punches. As he jumped to avoid yet another fist, he quickly rose a hand to his communicator. "Sorry B, but we're preoccupied too."

The sound of gunshots was heard over the link. _'Preoccupied with what?'_

One of the men managed to swipe at his arm with a dagger. Nightwing grabbed the man's hand, twisted it with enough force to break it, and then headbutted him to knock him out. "Ah, you know, the usual. The Joker threw me a welcome back party. I thought it would be kinda rude to decline his gracious invitation."

An unamused growl rumbled in his ear. _'Decline it anyways.'_ He snapped. _'The Joker isn't someone to take on by yourself. Grab Robin and retreat immediately.'_

Nightwing was going to reply when a glimpse of yellow caught his eye. He focused on that, watching as Robin took down yet another man. His feet were moving by themselves just as he caught sight of the Joker pointing the gun at the kid. 'Shit. Crap. Damn it.' Nightwing thought as he ran towards the kid. 'Bruce'll kill me if I lose his son!'

Robin punched a man in the face and slowly turned around. However, he was not fast enough to get out of the way as the Joker pulled the trigger. A bright light streaked across the room and would have hit Robin if it weren't for the man who rammed in to him. Nightwing's fingers curled around Robin's arms as the light hit his shoulder.

Everything went black.

xXx

"Nightwing? Nightwing!"

The man groaned softly as the small form of a child came into focus. "What's up, little Wing?" He asked with a weak smile.

"You idiot! What were you thinking?!" Robin glared at him fiercely. "We had no idea what that gun was capable of! You could have been killed!"

"Didn't know that you cared so much. I'm touched."

"-tt-" Robin turned away. "I was simply concerned that father would be angry at me for allowing you to die."

Nightwing chuckled at that. "Whatever you say little bro." He sat up, ignoring the waves of dizziness that it brought him. He finally realized that they were no longer surrounded by villains, and the factory seemed to be even dirtier than he remembered. "Um. Where did they go? How long was I out?"

"You were unconscious for approximately five minutes. As for where the villains went, I am unsure. After you pushed me out of the direct line of fire, there was a sudden bright light. When I could see again, the Joker and his associates were gone."

"That's...odd." Nightwing shook his head. "We'll figure that out later. Have you called Bats yet?"

"One of the thugs damaged my ear piece."

"I'll do it, then." He brought his hand up to his comm. "Nightwing to Batman."

Silence.

"Listen B, the Joker has escaped with a new weapon. I'm not sure what it does, but he managed to shoot me with it. I am willing to go back to the Cave for a checkup, but the Joker is still at large."

Silence.

"Bats?" After another period of silence, Nightwing looked at Robin. "He's not answering."

Robin looked thoughtful. "Perhaps the gun is the reason why we can't contact him. It could be blocking radio signals."

Nightwing nodded slowly. "There is the possibility..." He then activated his holographic computer, hoping to find Batman's coordinates. However, all his screen came up with was static. "It must be messing with my computer as well. Let's head back to the Bat Cave and contact him from there."

Robin nodded in consent. "That seems to be the best course of action."

Nightwing stood and shook the layer of dirt off of his uniform and then joined Robin in the short journey to the exit. Once outside, they saw that the buildings were now covered in a thick layer of snow. "That's not right." Nightwing muttered. "It doesn't snow in August. Batman must have been occupied by an ice villain when I last spoke to him."

"Then he will need us to assist him." Robin said shortly. "We still need to go to the Bat Cave."

"Yeah..." The two used their grappling hooks to pull themselves up to a higher rooftop to get a better view of their surroundings. Nightwing felt his heart hammer loudly in his chest at the sight of this city. For some reason, Gotham looked...off. It was like the atmosphere was a lot darker than usual, for some reason.

Robin stiffened next to him, obviously sensing the same thing. "My 'hero senses,' as you would call them, are detecting something. I don't like it."

"I feel it too." Nightwing depressed a shudder. "Let's take the zeta tubes. We'll get there a lot faster if we go up to the Watch Tower and take another tube down to the Cave."

"If you insist." Robin muttered and followed the older man. The two of them safely lowered themselves onto the ground and quickly made their way to an abandoned police box. Nightwing threw the door open and gestured for Robin to go in first. The boy scowled but complied, waiting to be let in...

 **"Not recognized."** The machine declared, returning to silence.

"Did Bats not register you yet?" Nightwing frowned.

"I went up to the Watch Tower several times, Nightwing. Father registered me a long time ago." Robin scowled as if Nightwing just said the most offensive word in his vocabulary.

"It's probably just a glitch." He cleared his throat and spoke to the machine, "Override: Nightwing B01."

The machine stayed silent before replying with, **"Not recognized."**

Nightwing's stomach filled with dread. There was something wrong here, he knew. "We don't have time for this. I'm going to hack it."

Before Robin could protest, Nightwing activated his holo computer and used it to get into the zeta network. It was a good thing that the only thing that was damaged on his computer was his communicating devices, or this would be a bigger pain than it already was. After a few seconds, the zeta tube hummed in acceptance.

"Children first." Nightwing said with a cheerful smile.

"The expression is ladies first, idiot." Robin walked back into the tube. "And if that's the case, you should have gone first." With a flash of light, the kid disappeared.

"Didn't stop you from going first." Nightwing said under his breath as he stepped inside the tube. There was a moment of weightlessness before the bright light dimmed down. Used to this by now, Nightwing simply ignored the dizziness that it always brought him and walked over to Robin. "Okay, we finally did something right."

"-tt- Speak for yourself, Grayson. My techniques were perfect."

"No civilian names." Nightwing scolded. "And who was the one who wasn't paying attention and almost got shot?" Silence. "Yeah, I thought so. Now, let's head over to the Cave, and-"

"Stop right there!" The two of them were pulled out of their conversation as a group of Leaguers sprinted into the room. Wonder Woman, Superman, Black Canary, and Martian Manhunter glared at them from the other side of the room. "What business do you have here?" It was Wonder Woman who spoke.

"Wow, guys. No need to be so hostile." Nightwing was immediately reminded of the multiple times that the League was under some form of mind control. Those were the only times that these people have ever looked at him with such dislike. "We were just going to the Bat Cave."

"Like hell you are." Batman walked into the room from the other entrance, Green Arrow and the Flash at his sides. Nightwing realized with a jolt that the Flash was the original Flash, and not Wally West. He survived?!

"Oh, there you are, B. We were trying to contact you but-"

An arrow was being pointed at him, and a lasso was pulled out. Nightwing nervously inched his way in front of Robin as the other members of the League shifted into fighting stances, instinctively wanting to protect the younger hero in case there was any violence. His mind raced as he tried to figure out what villain could be behind this. All possible candidates were known to be in prison. This could probably be something new.

Robin seemed to notice what Nightwing was doing, if his glare was anything to go by. Black Canary seemed to notice as well, because her expression softened just a tiny bit. "One of them is a child. Maybe this is just a misunderstanding."

Batman grunted. "It wouldn't be the first time a child has been swayed to the other side."

Nightwing brought his hands up in the universal sign of surrender, trying to calm everyone down. "Look Bruce, I don't know what's going on, but-"

Suddenly, there was a fist in his face. Nightwing stumbled back in shock and was unprepared for kick that the dark knight used to knock his feet out from under him. As soon as Nightwing's back hit the ground, a crushing foot was forced onto his chest to keep him in place. When the black spots disappeared from his vision, Nightwing saw the enraged expression that the older man wore. Never has that look ever been directed at him, and he had to admit that it was terrifying. "You know my identity?!" Batman growled.

"Get away from him!" Batman was pushed away by a blur of red, black, and yellow. Using his new surge of adrenaline, Nightwing immediately rolled over and jumped back up to his feet. When he saw Robin, he was taken aback. Never before has he ever seen that kid so angry on his behalf, or so...scared.

"Robin, stop." Nightwing ordered right as the kid was about to lunge at Batman.

Robin grit his teeth. "But he hurt you. Father would never do that!"

"Come here. We're dangerously outnumbered, and I'm too injured to be much use."

'We'll wait until the perfect time to make our escape' was what he was actually saying.

Robin scowled, yet complied. The boy took a few steps backwards until he was directly in front of Nightwing. The man could barely hold back a smile. No matter how much he denied it, Robin obviously cared for the older hero. The fact that he was trying to protect him was just too cute.

"Father?" The Flash was suddenly at the dark knight's side. "You two must be crazy. Batman here isn't exactly fatherly material."

Nightwing snorted. "You can say that again. He is Robin's father, though. You can do a DNA test if you don't believe me."

"We'll be taking DNA from both of you. Though it's unlikely that your names will show up in any records, we will take the chance." Superman glared at the two.

Nightwing furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Did mind control also include memory loss? Man, this was just too weird. First, the warehouse looked different, then their technology wasn't working, after that it started snowing for no apparent reason, and now they were stuck with brainwashed League members.

Hold on a second...The League members themselves looked different! He couldn't put his finger on it, but there were subtle differences in the people in front of him compared to the ones he saw just a few hours ago. This was a crazy idea, but it certainly made sense. "Hey, um, can I ask what the date is before you start ripping hair out or taking blood samples?" Robin stiffened next to him, obviously sensing where he was going with this.

Batman narrowed his eyes, obviously thinking that he was going to pull some sort of trick on him. After a few seconds, he finally activated his holo computer and showed them the date on the screen, "January 13th, 2017."

Robin's eyes widened. "Nightwing..."

Nightwing chuckled weakly. "Okay, so it's definitely not August. That explains the snow...But our world was only two years behind. Time travel is ruled out. They would still recognize us..." The League members shared an unidentified look between themselves.

"You two really are crazy."

"If you are ever faced with the scenario of traveling to another universe..." Nightwing recited under his breath before he looked at Batman, meeting his gaze head on. "Scenario 16B."

Batman stared at him for a moment, and Nightwing briefly feared that the scenarios didn't exist in this universe. However, Batman finally turned to look at Wonder Woman. "Cuff them."

xXx

 **AN: Wow. I have no idea where this idea came from. I'm not even sure which fandom this would fall under. I feel like I took three different universes and mushed them together to create...an alternate universe fic. Um.**

 **We'll say that this is from Young Justice. 'Kay?**

 **Alright, my dear readers, you know the drill. Leave a comment, and tell me how I did. I would appreciate anything you have to say, even if it's harsh criticism. I love hearing what you all have to say. :)**


	2. Alternate Universes

"Cuff them." Commanded Batman's deep, authoritative voice.

Robin bristled as Wonder Woman produced a pair of handcuffs. His eyes narrowed into a deadly glare when he noticed that there was only _one_ pair, meaning that he would be cuffed to Nightwing. There was no way in hell he was going to be stuck with a fidgety, talkative, and altogether irritating man like him.

They needed a plan.

Nightwing didn't seem to notice his concern, choosing to lean against a nearby wall with his arms folded behind his back. "I'd prefer it if you didn't." He said calmly, flashing his most charming smile.

Robin rolled his eyes behind his mask. Did the idiot honestly believe that he could negotiate with the Justice League? He mentally shook his head- Nightwing wasn't _that_ stupid, not on a normal day. Wait, Nightwing had his hand right in front of one of his emergency smoke pellets. Clever.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Your preferences don't matter here. Until we can be sure that you're telling the truth, you will be kept prisoner." He nodded at Wonder Woman, who slowly approached Nightwing.

Robin knew a lot of things, and it wasn't a secret that Nightwing hated to be confined for long periods of time. The grimace on the elder hero's face confirmed it. Since neither of them wanted to play prisoner any time soon, it looked like they would be making their escape.

The smoke pellet fell, and chaos erupted.

Activating his 'Bat Vision'* on the lenses of his mask (he never knew the technical term for it, he only had Grayson's nickname for it), Robin ran with Nightwing towards the Zeta Tubes, dodging disgruntled heroes as he went. They were a mere five feet away from their destination when they were painfully reminded that Batman also had the same technology.

And by painful, he meant the literal sense of the word.

The Dark Knight suddenly grabbed a fistful of Robin's hood and yanked back, making him stumble. Nightwing spun around and chucked a wingding* right at the vigilante's hand. The man grunted upon impact, and Robin felt his grip loosen. That was all he needed.

In seconds, the two younger heroes were gone.

xXx

"Move," Nightwing pushed Robin into the nearest alley as soon as the Zeta Tube shut off.

"Get off- mph!" A gloved hand pressed against his mouth just as the Tube announced the arrival of the Flash.

"How can someone hide coordinates of the place they're beaming to?" The speedster mumbled to himself as he looked around. "Damn, looks like they're not here. Bat's is gonna kill me..." with that, Flash took off at the speed of sound, going in the opposite direction of the two boys that were hiding.

"And this, my dear Dami, is why we don't rush into battles." Nightwing let go of Robin and ran a hand through his own hair. "Now we're stuck in an alternate universe, we don't know how to get back home, the League is after us, and we have absolutely no where to go. That's just peachy."

Robin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, cheeks burning in embarrassment. "I did not mean to cause this. Should I have known that we were in such danger, I would have listened."

Nightwing smiled at him and ruffled his hair. "Apology accepted."

That was _not_ an apology. "Listen here Grayson, in no way or form did I-"

"Crap, we really need a place to crash. With your arrogance and my hatred of confined spaces, there is no possibility of us hiding in an alley. Also, we don't have anything to change out of. We need to find ourselves an ally..."

"Arrogance? I am not arrogant!"

He was ignored, yet again. "All Justice League members are out. We do have the former sidekicks though. Maybe they'll be kind enough to lend a hand."

Robin was not a big fan of Nightwing's former team. Anytime they came around, all of the man's attention was shifted towards them. It wasn't that he was jealous of course, but it was annoying when Grayson's head wasn't where it was supposed to be. "Perhaps we have other options? There is always the chance that we find a way back to our universe before nightfall."

"I would love it if it was that easy little bro. Chances are, we'll be stuck here until someone from home figures out where we are and brings us back."

Robin narrowed his eyes. "Can't we figure it out from here?"

"Yeah, but that would be difficult. We would need to know what we were hit with, gather equipment that might not exist here, and find people who know what they're doing. Either way, we need allies."

Grayson did have a point. Several, if he was being honest. "-tt- fine, we'll do things your way."

A brilliant smile was sent his way. "Good. If you disobeyed me again, I'd hate to be sent back in time or something. That would really suck."

Robin scowled. "If you are going to tease me, use a wider range of vocabulary. 'Suck' is both informal and unprofessional."

"Isn't teasing itself both informal and unprofessional?"

"... -tt-"

Nightwing grinned. "Okay, we'll check my old teammates first, then our lovely family members. If we can't find anyone after that...I guess we'll be on our own."

The saddened tone to that statement made Robin feel uncomfortable. "We will figure it out. Don't be a pessimist, Grayson. It doesn't suit you."

The man beamed. "I'm glad you care."

"Assume what you will." He looked around "I did not ask before, but where are we?"

"Bludhaven. I'm actually surprised that they have a Zeta Tube here. In our universe, the League didn't put one here until I became he city's hero."

"Hmph. There are many differences between this universe and our own." A sudden idea struck him. "Perhaps we can contact the Grayson of this universe?"

An uneasy look fell onto Nightwing's face. "The League didn't recognize me or the name Robin, so there is no possibility of me being a hero here. Either I was adopted by Mr. Haley or I died in the accident that killed my parents. Either way, we won't be getting any help from myself."

Robin paused. A Richard Grayson that wasn't a hero? The thought itself was unthinkable. Robin couldn't imagine the man doing anything besides leaping off rooftops, cackling, taking on men three times his size, and making lousy jokes. In this universe, he was either dead or a normal acrobatic. He certainly hoped that it was the latter.

Not that he cared or anything.

"Very well. Who shall we start with?"

Nightwing stretched his arms over his head. "I'm thinking we could start with Wally West. He's a genius when it comes to technology, and it wouldn't hurt to have a speedster on our side. If he's anything like our KF, he'll get along with me just fine."

"And if he's not useful?"

The smile wavered. "Then we move on to the next one."

"Dull but manageable. Will we be going to Keystone City?"

Nightwing activated his hologlove and typed in a few quick commands. "Let's see..." He nodded. "Wally West lives in Keystone City. He lives on his own, so this shouldn't have many complications." He deactivated his glove and glanced at the younger hero. "Race you!" He exclaimed before grappling up to the nearest rooftop, cackling.

Robin fumbled for his own grappling hook, eyes narrowed. "That is unfair!" He called out before following. His lips twitched upwards ever so slightly as he followed his adoptive brother through the city. If he was to get stuck in an alternate universe with someone, Grayson wouldn't be the _worst_.

xXx

"Hello?! Wallace West? We kinda need to speak to you!" Nightwing said in a sing-song voice as the two of them climbed in through an apartment window.

Robin elbowed him. "Quiet. The last thing we need are villains knowing our location!"

Nightwing shrugged. "It's not like anyone here will recognize us. Robin and Nightwing don't exist, remember?"

"-tt-"

The childlike man continued to explore the small home, head tilted in curiosity. He looked almost like a kitten, Robin mused. "This place is worse than my apartment back in our world. Wally should be in college by now, should already be halfway to his dream job at Star Labs. Why would he live in a dump like this?"

"My dream job hasn't been at Star Labs since I was a kid." The two heroes turned and saw a muscular redhaired man standing in the doorway to the kitchen, arms folded over his chest, green eyes narrowed in irritation. "You know my real name, you're wearing Halloween costumes, and you know things about me that you shouldn't. I'd say you're from the Justice League, but they don't let children in. So who are you? Part of the Court?"

"Uh, no." Nightwing rose his hands in a surrendering gesture, smile not leaving his face. "We're not from around here. In fact, we're from a different universe. We were kinda hoping that you would help us get back home."

The redhead snorted after a brief pause. "You two are on something, aren't you?" He rose an eyebrow. "Even if you are from an alternate universe, why would I help you? What's in it for me?"

Robin scowled. "What's in it for you? Is helping two heroes like yourself not a good enough reward?"

"Robin-"

Wally burst into laughter. "Heroes like myself?! Man, that's hilarious. Look kids, go mess with someone else. You're lucky I haven't called security yet."

Nightwing flinched. "You're not a hero?"

"Those idiots who fight to the death in spandex? Nah, that ain't me."

Robin bristled. The Wally West from their universe was definitely annoying, but he was never this disrespectful towards heroes. "You call your own family idiotic? You are the one living in a shitty apartment, drinking your life away." The smell of alcohol was strong, and it didn't take the world's greatest detective to deduce where it originated from.

"Pfft. My so called uncle is no better than the people he tries to put behind bars." The man produced a cigarette and lit it with a match, taking a long drag from it. "Besides, what kind of hero abandons their family when they need them?"

"Barry did something to you?" Nightwing asked in surprise.

"You two sure ask a lot of questions." He breathed out a puff of smoke. "If I were anyone else, you would both be dead, or shipped off to the Court of Owls."

"But you won't do either." Grayson smiled, though it lacked its usual brightness. "For someone against heroism, you're a pretty nice guy."

"Hm. Nice and heroic are two totally different things. I for one don't like the whole killing thing, but the League thinks it's absolutely necessary. They'll murder anyone who has a three star crime rate and above. Those who fight against them or get in the way are killed too. They're no better than the lunatics they hunt down..."

Robin scowled in response. Who did he think he was, accusing the League of such things?! "The Justice League would never resort to murder! Batman would make sure of that!"

Another snort. "Batman? He's arguably the worst of them all. The moment that his sidekick died, his morality crumbled, and he became a vicious killer. He won't even grant anyone a quick death. It's always drawn out- broken bones, missing teeth, punctured organs...Yeah, never get caught by the Bat."

All color drained from Nightwing's face. "Bats...He would never do such a thing." He took in a deep breath. "Not ours, anyways. You have to believe us Walls. In my universe, we're best friends. You were Kid Flash and eventually _the_ Flash. We were part of a young superhero covert team, us and a couple of others."

"I think I'd remember if I was in a stupid-hero squad." Wally tilted his head. "But you do have an innocent air around you. Can't find that around here unless you're a child. There is a small possibility that you're telling the truth..." he shrugged. "Eh, what the hell, I'll believe ya. If you turn traitor and kill me, it's not like I'll be living much longer anyways."

Nightwing's eyebrows came together at the last statement, but he didn't comment. "So, will you help us?"

Wally shrugged. "I'll look into it. It would be helpful if you showed me how you got here."

"Well...about that..."

xXx

The two men sat in the grimy living room for hours, exchanging notes on their universes- heroes, major events, laws, history, and villains. The amount of information they were able to get from Wally was overwhelming.

First, this universe was a world of chaos. The US government was overpowered by a man named Bane in late 1980s, and it was agreed that the country would be purely democratic, with the people creating the laws themselves. Things were fine at first, but the justice system soon crumbled. Crime sprees erupted from everywhere, and just like the government itself, the newly created Judicial System was destroyed. The only form of justice left came in the form of the League, who were as corrupt as they come.

The citizens eventually pleaded for assistance from the other countries. The United States's allies claimed that they would do what they could, but with every other country fighting to control their own governments, the Americans were left to fight their own battle. Eventually, citizens grew impatient and decided to lock themselves into solitude. Trade ports were closed, money was burned, tourists were tortured and killed, and all communications were turned off. There was no more media, cell phones, computers, anything. Anyone caught using any of those would be executed by the Court of Owls, who were the enforcers of their own twisted laws. If Grayson had been caught digging up West's files, he would've had the entire Court after him.

After years of this kind of violence, it was no wonder that crime became a game...

That wasn't the only major difference between the universes. Almost every person that both Robin and Nightwing knew are not who they are supposed to be. Damian was barely able to keep track of the disturbing differences in each person.

Take Roy Harper for example. Instead of being taken in by Green Arrow after an archery tournament, Harper never showed up. Instead, he was mugged by a couple of nameless thugs, who disfigured his face with their daggers. When Harper saw his reflection, it drove him over the edge of insanity. Driven by vengeance, Harper began to collect all sorts of daggers so that if he were to find his muggers, he would put them through the same hell he did. He called himself Arsenal- a nod towards the variety of weapons at his disposal.

Next was M'gann M'orzz. There were absolutely no records of any Martian females on Earth, but it was possible that she was disguising herself as an ordinary human. However, there also weren't aregistered shape shifters on Earth besides Martian Manhunter. If M'gann was on the planet, she was staying low and keeping her head down.

Damian felt his stomach twist at the look of utter despair that fell onto Grayson's face when they were told about Connor Kent, aka Superboy. In this universe, Superboy didn't have an Earth name. Hell, he didn't have anything. Without the Team to rescue him in this world, he was brainwashed by Cadmus and molded into the ultimate weapon. When the Light was taken down by the Court, Superboy managed to escape and create havoc in Gotham. When the League caught him, they weren't very happy. Batman was especially furious, going as far as murdering him with Kryptonite.

There were others, of course. Artemis didn't have a team to go to, so her father managed to corrupt her and turn her into an assassin. When the Light was taken down, she simply switched sides and allied herself with the Court. She ended up calling herself Tigress.

Barbra Gordon became Batgirl in the early years of Batman, but she soon fell in battle. It was her death that sent the Dark Knight into the pits of darkness. The one responsible for her untimely demise just so happened to be the Joker. The first person to die by Batman's hands was the clown himself.

Which meant that they couldn't make this Joker send them back...

Zatanna and Rocket were both missing in this universe. It was unknown if they actually disappeared at one point, or if their fathers did a decent job at hiding them from the hero business. Nightwing stated that it was the latter. Robin knew that he was only hoping.

Finally, there was the 'Bat-family.'

Jason Todd was the easiest to find. Bruce Wayne never adopted him, so he was left on the streets to continue fending for himself. He eventually became one of the greatest crime lords, but something changed his mind a few years ago, and he joined the Resistance* instead. The name he went by was the Red Knight, and he claimed to be the sole protector of children who were forced into crime.

Next was Tim Drake. While Damian never favoured Drake in any way, even he could admit that what happened to him was depressing. When he was only six years old, a couple of Owl members seized his house. His father was apparently guilty of using the internet without granted permission, and his punishment was the execution of him and his family. His son was the first to go.

The Damian Wayne of this universe never existed. Bane overthrowing the government set off a chain reaction that led to the untimely death of Talia Al Ghul. Bruce never met her, and without the two of them being together for reproduction, Damian had no chance of being born. Robin wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. The only reason he became who he was was because Batman taught him how to restrain his murderous instincts. If Batman wasn't above killing here, then...

"Man my head hurts." Grayson muttered from his perch on the worn out couch. "This is so twisted."

Robin stared at him for a long time. To think, in a universe, Grayson was _dead_. There was no one to butcher the English language, make corny jokes, show off in battle, or smile his brightest grins. No wonder this universe was so messed up. Without a Robin, Batman would succumb to his darkness, the League would fall out of balance, and there would be no one to stop the Court.

Damian never realized how important one person could be in the grand scheme of things.

"You think _this_ is twisted?" Wally put out his cigarette on an armrest. "Your universe sounds like a fairy tale. I mean seriously, you still have television?! I haven't seen one of those since I was three!"

"When we get back, I'll try sending you some stuff." Nightwing tsked and shook his head. "No tv, no video games, no internet...What do you do when you're bored? Eat cereal?"

The redhead snorted. "As if. The only cereal we have is expired Raisin Bran."

Nightwing's eyes widened. "What? What about stuff like Fruit Loops, or Frosted Flakes?" Wally shook his head, and Grayson looked like he was going to lose it. "Please tell me you have Lucky Charms!"

"Haven't seen a box of that since I was a kid."

"...I'm ready to go home now." Grayson fell backwards against the couch with a dramatic sigh. "I can handle being dead. The world being in chaos? No biggie." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "But if I can't get my daily dose of sugary cereal, this won't work out."

Wally stared at him for a long moment. "I haven't seen anything quite like you, kid. It's been a long time since I've heard anyone joke around like that."

"Is that a bad thing?" Grayson countered.

A faint trace of a smile appeared. "Not at all. I might actually say that I like you. Us being best friends? I can deal with that."

The acrobat seemed to relax at those words. Grayson always needed to be accepted, to be liked. It was strange. If someone didn't like him, he'd go out of his way to amend whatever mistake he made. Even villains seemed to favor him over the other heroes.

"So, is there a place we can crash at?"

Wally rose a brow. "I hope you don't mean here. I can barely fit myself in this tiny little place." He shrugged. "As part of the Resistance, I have connections. All you have to do is show up at their place and give them the code. They'll help you from there."

"Sounds easy enough. So who will it be?"

"Hm..." Wally tapped his chin. "It's getting late, so you'll want to hurry over to your destination. There are no open homes in Keystone at this point in time...Wait, I forgot, we have an opening."

"Cool. Where to, oh great Wallace West?"

The speedster looked mildly amused. "We have a group that comes here once a year on their way to Gotham. You'll have to lay low while you travel with them, but I should be able to find a way to keep you informed of what I find."

"Great. Now skip to the part where you tell us where we are going." Robin said, annoyed.

West narrowed his eyes. "Brat. You'll fit right in..." He looked at Grayson. "Ever hear of Haley's Circus?"

Oh boy...

xXx

 **AN:** ***Bat-Vision:** **Infrared Vision**

 **Wingding** **: Nightwing's version of a Batarang**

 **The Resistance** **: Group of people fighting against the Court. They want to bring back the old justice system. As a result, they don't kill unless completely justified.**

 **Confused? If you have any questions, I'll answer them. :)**


	3. Circus

When their taxi pulled up in front of the circus area, Dick felt his nerves spark with renewed nervousness.

"Stop fidgeting." Damian grumbled, eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses.

Wally had bought them both civilian clothes, giving them two pairs of jeans and three t-shirts each. Damian complained about how pedestrian the items were, but Dick knew that he was just as grateful as he was. Along with the clothes, they each carried backpacks carrying their hero costumes along with a few bathroom necessities. They had all of this, plus sunglasses. Damian refused to go anywhere without the two of them having something covering their eyes. Paranoid brat, just like his father.

Dick felt a pang of homesickness thinking about Bruce.

"Sorry." Dick handed the driver a handful of bills before shoving the door open and practically threw himself out. He was immediately greeted with the familiar scent of fresh hay, the sound of mindless chattering, and a massive colorful tent. A smile graced his face; it looked like this circus wasn't too different from the one he grew up in.

Damian appeared next to him as the taxi took off. "Is it always so loud?"

"It's a circus, little D. It's supposed to be loud."

"Hm." He didn't use any insults, which Dick was extremely grateful for.

"Ah, newcomers!" The two of them were greeted by Mr. Haley himself, who stuck a hand out towards Dick.

Dick grinned and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Dick, and this is Damian."

Damian scowled at the use of their civilian names. He didn't like how they were giving away their real names in such a dangerous situation, but Dick couldn't bring himself to lie to anyone in his circus. It just wouldn't be right. Besides, no one would see them after they went back home. No harm done.

"It's nice to meet you both." Haley smiled down at Damian, ignoring the scowl. "So, are you here to join the circus, or-"

"West sent us." Damian interrupted, looking offended by the idea of being in a circus.

"West?"

"Wallace West." Dick clarified. "He said we could stay with you until we, uh, figure things out."

"Ah." The man nodded briskly. "Good, then we have nothing to hide from you two. Come, I'll show you where you can sleep." He gestured towards the train and began to walk towards it. Dick didn't think before following, Damian close behind.

"So is everyone aware of what you do?" Dick asked curiously.

"Ah, no. We have a few new workers here that have no idea what we do. But there are quite a few of our members that help out with our other operations." He chuckled. "You'll find that we're quite a friendly bunch, Resistance or not."

"That's a relief." Dick smiled brightly. "It seems as though everyone we meet is negative. I understand that you are going through tough times, but..."

"Yes, it's common for everyone to be unhappy with how things are, but we at Haley's Circus try to see the bright side of everything. That's why I still run this place. Everyone needs a smile in such dark times, and a circus is the perfect way to make it happen."

Dick tilted his head. "But aren't you a world-wide circus? How do you get around with all of the ports closed?"

"I'm not going to ask how you know that." He looked curious. "But yes we used to be a traveling circus. We were performing in America when all the ports closed. So now we're stuck." He stopped in front of a train car. "Here you go. It's not much, but we have extra blankets and pillows coming your way."

"Thanks Mr. Haley." Dick said, elbowing Damian.

"Yeah. Thanks." The boy muttered.

"No problem." He grinned at Dick. "We hope to see you in the crowd tonight. It might not be your thing, but trust me when I say that our performers are magnificent!"

Dick beamed. "Don't worry, we'll be there." He confirmed. Haley nodded cheerfully and left. "Some things never change."

"Like your need to make endless chatter with everyone you see?" Damian asked with a scowl.

"Come on, don't be that way." Dick sat down on one of the benches. "You know this place is like home to me. Mr. Haley is the only person I know that didn't completely change in this universe."

"-tt-"

Dick smiled and laid down on the cushioned bench. "Come on, let's get some shut eye before the performance. We've been through a lot in the last couple of hours. You're probably exhausted."

"Don't be ridiculous. I am in no need of rest."

"Suit yourself." Dick shrugged and closed his eyes. He heard Damian shuffle around for a minute before finally laying down on the other bench. A few minutes later, he heard light snoring. "Pfft. Not tired, huh?" Dick muttered to himself before falling asleep.

xXx

"Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to Haley's Circus!"

Dick cheered with the other audience members, clapping enthusiastically.

"For our first act, please welcome Terry!"

"So circuses are full of people who can perform unnecessary acts?" Damian asked him. Dick nearly reprimanded him for being rude, but saw that he was genuinely curious to what the circus was like.

"I guess you could say that." Dick smiled and handed him a bag of popcorn. "Yeah, we have people that can perform a lot of cool tricks, but that isn't the point. Everyone here has a story, a reason why they don't want to be part of the social world. All sorts of people have different pasts, genders, races, and personalities, but the circus lets them all come together to form a family. We find joy in our family, and we try to spread that joy to everyone else through our performances."

"Oh." Damian frowned. "Do you wish that you remained with the circus? It was your first family, after all."

Dick blinked. "Yes, and no. I miss my first family, but I wouldn't trade my second one for anything." He smiled sadly. "That's like asking if I wish my parents raised me instead of Bruce. While I love my parents and miss them terribly, I don't regret meeting Bruce. If there was a way to have them both in my life, I'd do anything for it." *

"Hm."

Dick returned to watching the performances, now distracted by the previous question. Why did Damian care if he wanted to stay with the circus or not? Dick was suspicious that Damian was deeply affected by the switching universes thing, more than he was showing. It could have made him open his eyes and see his relationships in a new light, and cause him to be more open to another's feelings.

But now he had questions of his own. What would they do if they were stuck there? How would Damian react? Would he be okay with staying with the circus? Would he try to run off to this world's Bruce?

"And now, ladies and gents, it is time for our final act!"

Dick snapped out of his thoughts immediately, blinking. Did he really zone out through the entire thing? Man, he was really looking forward to seeing some of the acts. He sighed in disappointment, picking up his soda and taking a long sip of it.

"I bring to you, the Flying Graysons!"

Dick froze.

Damian sent him a startled look, but he didn't react to it. His eyes were fixed on the four figures standing on the trapeze. There stood his mother, Mary Grayson, waving at the crowd with a bright smile on her face. Next to her was his father, John Grayson, who was getting ready to leap off. Across from them was a blonde boy and a dark haired girl, both unrecognizable. Dick's heart thumped faster as he looked down towards the ground. There was a safety net, thank God.

But those were his parents. _His parents_. The two people whose deaths inspired him to join the superhero community. The reason why he became the ward of Bruce Wayne, why he ended up as a charity case for one of the world's richest men.

His parents were right in front of him. Not dead. Very much alive. And performing. Like nothing ever happened. As if they never left.

John and the blonde boy jumped.

Dick watched the four do flips in the air, moving around as graceful as a human could. He remained frozen in his seat even as Damian repeatedly called his name. How could he care when his parents were right there, right in front of him?

They were alive, but in a different universe. Fate was twisted and cruel.

"I'm afraid that's it, folks!" Mr. Haley declared when the Graysons finished, spotlight landing on him. "Want to see more? Join us at our next performance in Gotham City!"

The crowd stood up and applauded the circus members. The performers now stood side to side in the main ring, arms locked together and adoring smiles on their faces. Dick stared at his parents the entire time, mind reeling with what-

BANG!

Several members of the crowd screamed, and everyone scrambled to duck under the seats. The members of the circus cautiously threw their hands up, nervously looking around for the shooter.

Several masked men jumped down from the stands and aimed their guns at the performers. "Tell us where they are." One of them commanded.

"Who?" Haley asked in confusion.

"Don't act stupid!" The man roared. "The ones who don't belong here."

They were talking about him and Damian, Dick realized with a jolt.

"I don't have anyone here who doesn't belong!"

"Then I guess we'll have to kill all of you." He pointed his gun at the dark haired girl who performed with the Graysons. "Starting with you."

"No!" John suddenly tackled the main guy. The reaction was instantaneous: the other masked men all grabbed the back of his uniform and yanked him away.

"Idiot." The main dude hissed, dusting off his clothes. "You'll pay for that." He nodded to one of his men, and they landed a punch square on his nose.

CRACK.

Dick stood in an instant, eyes blazing with fury.

The boss smirked at John. "Got an owie? Good. I'll give you another." He pointed the gun at his head. "Any last words?"

"How about: traught and turbed." Dick called out as he launched himself out of the audience and landed on the man's shoulders, throwing him to the ground. "Both of which you are not." Dick grabbed him by the collar and slammed his head back onto the ground, knocking him out.

"Open fire!" Someone ordered.

Dick did a couple of backhand springs to avoid the onslaught of bullets, eyes narrowed. "Watch it, someone could get hurt."

"That's the point." One of them sneered.

Damian finally sprung down from the strands and landed in a crouch next to the speaker. Seconds later, he sprang back up and delivered a powerful punch to the man's jaw. "Did that hurt? That's the point though, isn't it?"

"Ack! Shoot them!"

Damian and Dick fell into a familiar pattern, one of them attacking while the other defended, and switching off when needed. Dick used his acrobats to his advantage, flipping and rolling out of the reach of his enemies and attacking them from behind. Damian had more force behind his attacks, though they weren't quite strong enough to break bones.

One of the men grew lucky and managed to swipe at Dick's torso with a blade. Ignoring the sharp pain, the acrobat twisted out of the man's reach and somersaulted behind him. Before the thug could think, he sprung back up and delivered a powerful kick to the back of his head.

The fight ended almost as soon as it started.

With the last man finally unconscious, the two heroes fell out of their fighting stances. Dick's eyes swept over the crowd for any more criminals. Finding none, he beamed. "Ta-da!" he said in triumph, bowing slightly.

The audience members took another moment of silence before standing back up, applauding once again. The circus members soon joined in, clapping enthusiastically. Damian scowled and muttered something under his breath as he stepped behind his former mentor to avoid the attention.

"I must say, I did not know you two could move like that!" Mr. Haley exclaimed. "Dick, you looked like a true acrobat!"

Dick rubbed his neck with a meek chuckle. "I guess so." His eyes trailed over to John Grayson, who was holding the black haired girl in his arms and speaking in a hushed tone. Dick forced himself to look away from them, anchoring himself to the world by putting a hand on Damian's shoulder. The boy didn't shrug him off, thankfully. "I hope everyone is okay."

Haley looked around and nodded. "Everyone is fine, thanks to you two."

Mary, John, and the two kids came together in a group hug. The girl, looking to be around five, clung to John while crying hysterically. The teenage boy did not cry, though his expression was troubled, and he stared at the two heroes with open distrust.

Damian finally spoke. "Who do we contact to take these idiots away?"

"No one." Haley answered. "Unless you want the Court coming here." He gave Dick a meaningful look. "And with your skills, I'm afraid that Court would be more interested in you than these brutes."

"It's best if we just tie them up and leave them here." John said, prying himself away from his family. He and Mary walked towards Dick and Damian, each smiling gratefully. Their warm smiles had the opposite affect that it should on Dick, they only tore at his insides. "We can't thank you enough for what you did. That was brave of you."

"We would all be dead if you weren't here!" Mary exclaimed.

Dick felt his face heat up at the praise, and fought to control the urge to hug them. 'alternate universe,' he reminded himself, 'they aren't your parents.'

But the way they spoke, how his mother gestured with every word, his father's protective stance, their brilliant smiles and compassionate auras, those all belonged to his parents. Just being in their proximity made him feel disoriented, and it was only a matter of time before he broke and told them everything.

Haley gestured to a couple of performers. "Find some rope and tie them up. Everyone else, go do what you must. Dinner will be served in two hours."

Everyone then split into small groups as they left, speaking in joyful tones as they went, apparently unaffected by the events that just went down. A few members of the group stopped to thank Dick and Damian, but it didn't take long for the area to be nearly empty. Dick, Damian, the Graysons, and the two children were the last ones available.

"We just wanted to welcome you to our circus." John said kindly. "We could use a couple of good hearted people like you two here."

"We won't be staying." Damian said defensively, crossing his arms over his chest before Dick could speak. "We are only staying until we find a way back to where we are from."

"Not from this country?" Mary inquired.

"You could say that." Dick said quickly.

"Oh. That's a shame." Mary looked towards the two kids behind her. "My kids could really use another trainer. John and I do our best, but your skills obviously outshine ours."

Dick's brain frantically tried to process that information, but it was starting to become too much. "They're your kids?"

John nodded. "This is Mari." He said, pointing to the girl. "And Robin." He pointed to the boy.

Robin? But, that was _Dick's_ nickname. His chest tightened with newfound grief. "That's cool." He choked out, forcing a smile. "They certainly seem to have your gift for the trapeze..." he fidgeted uncomfortably.

Mary smiled and bowed her head. "Thank you." She inclined her head. "And what are your names?"

"This is Damian." The boy nodded in response to his name, but he seemed slightly uncomfortable. "And I'm Richard, though I'd prefer it if you called me Dick."

An air of uneasiness fell filled Dick's lungs as he studied his parents' reaction to his name. Was it just him, or did they flinch?

Damian squinted in suspicion. "Is there a problem?"

"No problem. Sorry, but there's a bit of family history with that name..." John trailed off, a strange look on his face.

"Another kid, perhaps?" Dick couldn't help but ask.

"How did you-" Mary's eyes suddenly widened. "Dick, you're injured!"

Everyone followed her gaze to the wide gash on Dick's torso. Dick himself blinked in surprise. He was so occupied by his parents that he forgot about the battle. "Just a scratch." He gave everyone a reassuring smile. "Nothing to worry about."

"Nonsense." Damian argued unhappily. "You are bleeding. What if it gets infected?" He scowled. "That blade could have been laced with poison!"

"I would have noticed if it was poisoned." Dick tilted his head. "You're oddly protective today." He mused out loud.

"He's just worried about his dad." Mary said knowingly. Dick stared at her for a moment, completely baffled by that statement. "In any case, come with us to our hotel room. We have a first aid kit."

"Uh, I'll be fine. We have a couple of bandag-"

"Sorry, didn't hear you." Mary grabbed his forearm and pulled him towards the exit. "But I think you said yes, right?"

Dick couldn't help but chuckle as he was manhandled out of the tent. He was still shocked to see his parents completely not dead, but he decided not to dwell on it. Chances are, he and Damian would be going home soon. If that was the case, he would have to spend as much time as possible with his parents, and grieving those who left him would only distract him.

He suddenly wasn't against the idea of being stuck there.

xXx

"Nice place." Dick commented as he stepped into the hotel suite. "Better than my old apartment, that's for sure."

Mary laughed. "It's not much, but it's only temporary. We'll be checking out tomorrow morning before the train is scheduled to leave." She looked at her two younger kids. "Clean yourselves up before we leave for dinner."

"Okay Mommy." The girl chirped as she cartwheeled into another room, Robin and John following. Dick felt his smile fade away as he watched them interact. It was one thing for _Bruce_ to replace him as a son, but he felt oddly betrayed by his parents having any kids besides himself.

When did he become so selfish?

"Here Dick, sit on the couch. I'll be right back with the first-aid kit."

"Yes ma'am." Dick sat himself down at the indicated seat, Damian sitting down next to him.

The boy leaned closer to him. "Are they your...?" He trailed off, but it was clear what he was asking.

"Yeah. There's no mistaking it." Dick responded in a quiet volume.

"They reacted strangely to your name."

Before the older could reply, Mary and John returned. "I'll need you to take your shirt off." She laughed. "But don't worry, I promise that I'm not checking you out."

"I sure hope not." John said teasingly, kissing her cheek.

Dick felt his face burn. "Uh, right. Okay." He tugged his shirt off over his head, mindful of the sunglasses that Damian forced him to wear. As the fabric came off, he heard a small gasp of surprise.

"Oh dear... What happened?"

"What?" Dick looked down and caught sight of the many scars littering his upper body. Criss-crossed lines belonging to a whip were on his back, an assortment of stab and bullet wounds on his front, burn marks randomly falling everywhere, and a J shaped laceration right above his heart.

The Joker was not his favorite villain.

"Oh, battle wounds. Nothing too bad."

Mary pursed her lips but didn't respond, focusing on the only open wound. "You're in luck, no stitches this time. But I'm going to clean it." She produced a few disinfectant wipes from her kit and dabbed at the cut. Dick hissed at the contact and squirmed until she finally put a bandaid on. "All done."

"Thanks." He quickly pulled his shirt back on, thoroughly uncomfortable with the disturbed looks that he received from the two.

Damian cleared his throat. "I could not help but notice that you two had a bad reaction to Gr-" he stopped for a split second, eyes narrowed with indecision. Dick rose a brow, waiting to hear what the kid would call him. He was against using his first name, so what would he do, create a new last name? "Ahem. I noticed that you two had a bad reaction to _my father's_ name."

Dick would have been a lot more surprised if he didn't know that Damian was only using what his mother said earlier. Brat.

"Oh." John sighed. "We're sorry if we caused you discomfort."

"It's okay." Dick reassured. "But can I ask what the problem is? You said that there was a family history with that name."

Mary suddenly stood. "Oh, look at the time! Dinner will be served shortly, and you really don't want to be late for your first one! John sweetie, will you grab my purse? I need to get Rob and Mari." She hurriedly left, calling out to her kids.

John stood up too, and led them towards the exit. "We'll meet you there, okay? I'm sure you two know your way back." Dick and Damian were then ushered out the door, which almost immediately closed behind them.

Dick had never been kicked out of a hotel room in such a polite fashion.

"They're hiding something." Damian said sourly. "Something happened to their version of you."

"I probably just died, and they don't want to talk about it." Dick said calmly.

Damian frowned at this statement. "That's unfortunate."

A grin. "Why? I didn't know that you cared about your _father_ so much."

"Shut up."

xXx

 **AN: Please don't kill me. I've been meaning to update, I swear I have, but I encountered one of my oldest foes... That's right, Writer's Block nearly defeated me once again. It wasn't satisfied with killing off my Teen Titans fic, it was still bloodthirsty. With my mediocre writing skills I barely managed to defeat it, but I had to sacrifice a character or two in order to win. Oops.**

 **Getting back on topic, I kind of hinted at a few things here. You can try to be a detective and figure it out yourselves, or wait until I reveal it later. Your choice. :)**


	4. Bonding Time with Deathstroke

Damian fidgeted through most of dinner, muttering profanities under his breath as he was forced to eat canned food, and sending Grayson a glare every so often just to make sure he knew how much he hated the entire situation. He never realized how much he enjoyed Pennyworth's meals until he was sent to an alternative universe where the only edible food was a can of peaches. If one wanted anything fresh, then they would have to either grow or hunt their own food. Since the circus never stayed in one place for too long, they stocked up on canned foods, or things that wouldn't expire for a long time. Damian was disgusted when he discovered that they even ate things that _were_ expired when they couldn't get their hands on anything else. It was below him to have to stoop down to this level of desperation, and he was more than ready to go back home.

If Grayson was willing to, that was.

A small seed of suspicion was planted in the boy's brain as he watched his brotherly figure interact with his family. Even though the rest of the Graysons were very distant with their unknown family member, Richard was very persistent about getting to know them. Damian had understood his actions at first, but as Grayson continued to make desperate attempts to hold a conversation, a knot began to form in Damian's stomach. What if being in a universe with his dead parents would change his mind about going home? The man had certainly missed the two acrobats, and now that he had siblings on top of that, it was possible that he would never want to leave. If that was the case, then Damian would be stuck there as well, and he _couldn't_ live off of that canned nonsense.

"Grayson, we need to go," he muttered just loud enough for his brother to hear him. The man's eyes flickered over to him and back in the span of a split second, but Damian knew that he was acknowledged.

A few minutes went by without any sign of exit, but Grayson eventually stood up and gave everyone an apologetic smile. "Sorry guys but it's past Dami's bedtime, and I'm sure he wants his bedtime story before he crashes. We'll help pack everything up tomorrow morning, though."

Haley gave him a smile of his own. "That's perfectly fine. In fact, I must argue that you leave the packing to the rest of us! You've done enough for this circus already, we can't ask for anything more."

Grayson was about to open his mouth, probably to argue against not helping out, but Damian intervened. "Great, then we will remain in our train car until departure. Let's go... father," he struggled through the last word, wrinkling his nose in distaste. He just _had_ to give the circus reason to believe that Grayson and he were related by blood. Why couldn't he have said something less shameful, like a brother or a cousin?

Grayson gave him a warning glare. "Be nice, Dami." He stood, and beckoned for the other to do so as well. "We _will_ be helping with packing up. It will do Damian some good to work with a group anyways."

The circus leader chuckled as he agreed to the arrangement, and the two heroes quickly took their leave. Once they were far away from potential eavesdropping, Damian shot Grayson a frustrated glare. "Canned food, Grayson? And idiotic chitchat? I had expected more from the group that raised you."

Grayson glanced his way. "Would you rather starve to death? Be grateful that they gave us anything at all."

"-tt-" they arrived at their train car, and they quickly changed into their hero gear. Grayson, now as Nightwing, carefully kept an eye out for any circus members as they snuck out. Once they were off grounds, it was only a matter of getting back into the city, which was difficult due to their lack of transportation. "We are going to be late, thanks to your pointless socializing." West had informed them that the Resistance would provide them with updates on how the process of getting them back home was going. Their first meeting was tonight, but if they were late, then they would have to wait at least a couple more days for the next.

Nightwing smiled. "Just think of this as a warm up. Instead of running a couple of miles in the Bat Cave, we're sprinting all the way to Gotham. Fun, huh?"

"... West should have provided us with transportation."

"Limited supplies, little bro. There's only so much he can give us."

"Hmph."

xXx

They arrived in Gotham City a little under an hour later, and without a way of time tracking, it was impossible to tell if they were late or not. As Nightwing and Robin grappled from building to building, it quickly became apparent that they had to invest in getting a watch.

"Remember to keep your eyes peeled for any Justice Leaguers. The last thing we want is to be captured by Batman and be stuck playing prisoner until someone from our universe finds out where we are."

Robin nodded absently, eyes trained on the Wayne Tech building they were running toward. "If we wish to remain hidden from father, what is the purpose of meeting on his property?"

"I guess the Resistance doesn't know the identities of the League, or maybe there's a specific reason why we're meeting there." They were only a block away from their destination now, and Nightwing acknowledged this by speeding up. "Remember to not attack whoever it is that shows up. Wally said it will be one of the leaders of the Resistance, but we don't have a description on hand."

Robin nodded and produced his grapple gun. Nightwing did the same, and the two of them were yanked onto the building. They were surprisingly met with the sight of an empty rooftop when they arrived, and there was no sign of another human presence. "We have arrived too late, and now the Resistance has left us," Robin scowled and gave Nightwing an accusing glare. "If you didn't let your emotions get in the way of our task then-"

The older man suddenly stiffened, and two wingdings appeared in each hand. "Come out of the shadows," he growled dangerously, glaring at the darkness surrounding them. "I know you're there."

Startled by the change in attitude, Robin fumbled as he grabbed his own birdarangs, and squinted through the darkness. Spotting nothing peculiar, he gave the older hero a baffled glance. Even if there _was_ someone there, didn't Nightwing specifically say not to be hostile towards anyone who showed? Robin assumed that whoever they were facing was the person they were meant to meet up with in the first place.

There was a dark chuckle from somewhere on his right, and two figures stepped out of the shadows. "I must say I'm surprised you were able to sense my presence. Usually it takes months under my tutelage to accomplish such a feat," the taller one mused.

Robin's eyes widened as he took in the orange and black mask, and the swords attached to the man's back. The majority of his body armor was midnight black, besides his gloves and boots, which were orange as well. Those specific colors either meant Halloween, or a blood thirsty assassin; an enemy of their League. Judging by the fact that it was not October, and the familiar appearance of the man, he was most definitely the latter: Deathstroke. The man next to him was harder to identify. He had dark skin and a muscular build, wearing a red and black uniform with a ragged R painted across his chest. He also had two blades attached to his back, but their size and shape were dissimilar to his partner's. The most distinctive item of his outfit was the black cloth tied around his face, two holes torn into the fabric for his eyes, and tied in a knot at the back of his head like a stereotypical ninja.

West must have sent them to a trap, he thought angrily. Well then they would simply have to take care of their new adversaries and go on from there.

Robin tensed his muscles to spring, but Nightwing beat him to it. A blur of black and blue was all that could be seen as the hero almost literally threw himself at the villain. Robin froze in tracks as his brother and Deathstroke clashed. Arms and legs muddled together as blows were exchanged, and Robin was forced to snap out of his daze as a fist collided with the side of his head. The shorter man who Robin couldn't identify wasted no time in launching another attack, but the young bird was able to jump back to avoid the kick. He scowled and flicked a birdarang towards him, which was easily dodged.

"You must work on your aim," the nameless man said, pulling one of his swords out of its sheath. "And now you will pay for your ignorance."

"My aim is perfect, unlike the back of your head," Robin countered, and right on cue the birdarang came back and slammed into the man's skull. The villain grunted and fell forward, losing his sword in the process. Robin took advantage of this and snatched the blade, holding it up in a defensive position. Though it had been some time since he resorted to using such a weapon, he was positive that he would be able to wield it in order to protect himself.

"This is most unusual," Deathstroke said from a few feet away, and Robin turned to look at him. The assassin and Nightwing were now several feet away from each other, both in their fighting stances, but neither of them attacking. "You fight as though we have battled before- being able to anticipate what moves I will be using, and knowing how to block or counter them. It's almost like you've had plenty of practice against me." There was that dark chuckle again, and it sent shivers down Robin's spine. "I would ask if we've met before, but I already know the answer to that. Though I have not had the pleasure of meeting you in this world, you must have encountered me in your own. Am I correct?"

Nightwing glared. "Unfortunately, yes," he spat. "You and I have met several times where I'm from."

Robin frowned. He did not recall a time where Deathstroke and Grayson have met in battle, so it must have happened before he became Robin. Even so, Damian never saw Nightwing act so coldly towards anyone, not even a maniac like the Joker. This behavior was not something he would have expected from Grayson, and he had to admit that it was slightly terrifying. If Deathstroke could make the nicest of people act in such a way, then Damian could only imagine what the assassin was capable of. And what could he have done to Nightwing to provoke such a response? He was not sure if he wanted to know.

All of a sudden, Robin heard shuffling from behind him, and he barely rolled away to avoid being stabbed in the back. He got back to his feet and had seconds to put his arms up to block a powerful punch. The nameless man glared at him, his gaze promising a painful death for his adversary. Robin returned the look, but it was ineffective as the man dropped down and swept his feet out from under him. The breath was knocked out of his lungs as his back roughly made impact with the ground, and a sword was quickly pointed to his neck.

"Renegade, enough," Deathstroke ordered, and the man paused before retreating. Robin breathed a sigh of relief and jumped up to his feet, watching as the man, Renegade, returned to Deathstroke's side. Nightwing's face had paled considerably in the last minute, and Robin quickly made his way over to his side. Something about Grayson's expression shook him, and he had to make sure he was relatively well.

"Renegade..." Nightwing muttered, looking as though he was going to be sick.

Deathstroke nodded. "Renegade is my protege. We were sent by the Resistance to update you on the issue of returning you to your home universe. I was starting to believe you wouldn't show when you two arrived, which would have been disappointing. I must admit that I was curious when Wallace informed us of your personalities, especially yours, Nightwing." Grayson's hands curled into fists. "It has been quite some time since I have heard of anyone who isn't corrupt in one or another."

Robin narrowed his eyes. "You can't expect for us to believe you are part of the Resistance. You're a villain, not a hero."

"An ex villain who knows how to play the hero." Robin could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "Before I can go through with any of my own plans, the Court of Owls and the Justice League must both be annihilated."

"The Resistance doesn't kill," Robin growled.

"And neither do we, for now. The Resistance is the only chance to bring back how the world was before, and I will sacrifice my blood spilling hobby in order to reach my goal. Once the world is back to the way it was, I can enjoy being an assassin once again."

"You only fight against the Court for your own selfish desires?!"

"Enough," Nightwing said quietly, his tone making Robin's mouth snap shut. "Just tell us what progress you've made." His voice sounded shaky, and Robin spotted sweat near his hairline. Grayson was not tired before, so what was wrong now?

"We have no records of the weapon that you described, but one of the Green Lanterns said that he will look into alien technology while we continue searching on Earth. Otherwise, we have no progress. It may take some time before you are able to return to your home. There is a higher probability of the League from your world finding a way to retrieve you than it is for us to send you back." Deathstroke tilted his head, studying Nightwing carefully with his lone eye. "Perhaps it would be best if you sit down. From what I know, one shouldn't remain standing while having a panic attack."

Robin's eyes widened, and he spun around to fully look at Nightwing. The man's entire frame was shaking, and his breathing was erratic. Damian's mind fruitlessly tried to give him useful information to assist his partner, but he came up with nothing. There was absolutely nothing in his training to prepare him to help anyone having a panic attack! All he knew was how to break bones, drive many vehicles, investigate crimes, interrogate, hack into computers- great, now _he_ was panicking.

Suddenly, he remembered having a conversation with his father about this.

 _[Flashback]_

 _"Is he okay?" Damian heard as he entered the dining room. His father sat in one of the elegant chairs, cellphone in hand a look of concern on his face. "What triggered it? Oh. No, that is an unusual occurrence. They usually don't have anything to do with them, oddly enough." He turned around and caught sight of Damian. "Thanks for letting me know, Barbara. Can you ask him to call me when he's calm enough? Great. I'll see you next weekend. Bye."_

 _"Why was Gordon contacting you?" Damian asked the moment his father hit the 'end call' button._

 _A sigh. "Dick had a panic attack not too long ago. Barbara had it under control, but she called me to let me know."_

 _Damian blinked. "Grayson had a panic attack?" He wrinkled his nose. "Of course a weakling like him would-"_

 _A glare silenced him. "Your brother has experienced many horrors in his life. Panicking when he is reminded of those moments do not make him weak, it makes him human."_

 _"Yes, father." He looked down, soaking in this information. If his father did not believe that the attacks were weak, then they must not be. Instead of frowning down at them, he became curious. "What happens to him when he panics?"_

 _"It depends. Usually he hyperventilates and remains agitated for the remainder of the day, but I have seen him completely shut down."_

 _Damian was a little startled by that statement. "Shut down? What do you mean by that?"_

 _"He has had panic attacks so bad that he wouldn't respond to his environment. Several people could try to get his attention, but it's like he's not even there. It's scary," his father admitted, shocking the boy. "He'll just stare out into space, face completely blank and he won't react to anything. I used to be able to snap him out of it when he was younger, but it doesn't work anymore. It's a good thing he hasn't had one that bad in years."_

 _The image of Grayson in a zombie-like state made him uneasy. "What if he has a panic attack while we are on patrol? What do I do?"_

 _"Dick has never had an attack while in costume. He has a technique to keep the panic at bay while he's in the field. I wouldn't worry about that." He noticed Damian's worried frown, and smiled. "But if you and him are alone out of costume, just have him sit down and let him lean on you. If he doesn't calm himself down on his own, then just start talking. Tell him about your day, what's on your mind, how you feel about certain things, whatever you think of. Talking usually helps calm him down; it gives him something to focus on."_

 _Damian nodded slowly. "I will make note of that."_

 _His father stood. "I'm sure you won't have to deal with that anytime soon." He looked at his watch. "Now, why don't we go down to the Cave and start training?"_

 _[End Flashback]_

"Grayson, sit down," Robin said quickly, tugging on the sleeve of his costume.

"Need to... I can't..."

"You're not making any sense, Grayson. You are experiencing a panic attack, and the best course of action would be for you to sit down and calm yourself down before attempting anything else." Without waiting for a response, Robin grabbed both of his arms and gently pushed him down. Nightwing obediently sat, and automatically leaned forward to put his head in his hands. Damian sat down besides him and pulled him sideways so that he was just about laying on him.

"...that goddamn costume... hated that thing..." Nightwing muttered to himself.

"It was horrible." Robin agreed, though he had no idea what he was talking about. "Father informed me that I should engage in one-sided conversation in this type of situation, but I am unsure of what to say, so do not tease me after you feel better," he said in his usual indignant voice. He then launched into a tale, rambling about what he did in school, his fondness of his new pet cats, how much he hated Drake, and whatever else came to mind. His eyes stayed glued on Deathstroke and Renegade the entire time, trying to scare them away with a glare, but they didn't seem to get the message. Wasn't it obvious they weren't wanted?!

After a while, Robin was running out of topics, and had began to talk about his fears. His fear of failure, of disappointing his father, of losing his new family members ("yes, you are included in that category as well, Grayson"), and his fear of losing control. He spoke of the nightmares that haunted him at night, generally revolving around the idea of him reverting back to killing, and becoming the monster his mother created him to be. Eventually, his voice became a mere whisper, and he found himself gripping the fabric on Nightwing's arm for comfort. Though nothing else provoked a response from the man, his confessions seemed to snap him out of his state. Robin found himself being pulled into a warm hug, which he returned.

"Thanks Little Wing," Grayson mumbled as he released him. Robin nodded, and helped him return to his feet, pleased to see that most of the color returned to his face. Nightwing stood silent for a second, and then straightened his shoulders, giving Deathstroke a challenging stare.

"You must think that I will hold this against you." Deathstroke shook his head. "I myself have experienced panic attacks before, though I was able to overcome those many years ago. I could teach you, if you'd like."

Grayson flinched. "I don't want you to teach me anything."

"If you say so." A shrug. "I would have left you to overcome your panic in peace, but I still have something to share with you. The Resistance is planning a raid on a Court warehouse in three days, and we wanted to invite you both to join us. We are hoping to get our hands on special equipment they have stored there that we could possibly use to send you back. The only issue is that the warehouse is heavily guarded, and there are three known Talons stationed there. We will need any assistance we can receive."

"Isn't there only one Talon in the Court?"

"Here, there are many Talons. Don't mistake them for pushovers; the Talons are the strongest warriors in the Court. One is difficult enough, but three would be nearly impossible to defeat without equal brutality on our side."

Nightwing nodded slowly. "We will help the Resistance." He narrowed his eyes. "But don't think that means we are allies."

Deathstroke laughed. "There are no such things as allies here, hero." He and Renegade backed towards the edge of the roof. "Until next time..." they jumped into the shadows, disappearing into the night.

Grayson stared at the space they just inhabited, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why is this world so fucked up? Nothing makes sense anymore."

"..." Robin did not know what to say to that, and chose not to comment on it at all. Instead, he came in front of him and studied his face. "Are you able to return to the circus at this time, or do you need more time to rest?"

The older hero gave him a small smile. "I'll make it there okay. Let's go so we can catch a few hours of sleep."

Robin nodded. "I suppose we will be rising early to assist in packing the supplies."

Nightwing blinked, looking mildly surprised. "...Yes."

"Then let's go." He moved to leave, but his brother stepped into his path.

"You asked Bruce what to do if you had to help me with a panic attack, didn't you?" As Robin nodded, a brilliant smile appeared on his face, and he placed both of his hands on the younger's shoulders. "I don't see why you're afraid of becoming a monster, Dami. You're a good kid. I couldn't ask for a better brother." He stepped back. "And I can't speak for Bruce, but _I'm_ proud of you. Don't be too hard on yourself, okay?"

With that, Nightwing spun around and threw himself off of the rooftop, letting out a cheerful cackle as he fired his grappling hook. Robin felt a small smile fight its way onto his face as he followed. Even if he wouldn't admit it, he had certainly grown attached to his pretend father.

xXx

 **AN: *awkwardly shuffles feet* Um, surprise? I'm still continuing this? This fic isn't dead? I know I suck at updating this particular story, but I swear that I will finish it! Don't lose faith!**

 **Reminder: I am an evil author. Because of this, you can expect many feels in this story, or any of my stories for that matter. Sorry! (I'm not sorry, not one bit xD)**


	5. Batman's Adventures: Part One

**AN: So just to clarify, this will be the first of many chapters revolving around the original universe's Batman, and how he reacts to what happens in his world after Dick and Damian disappear. There will be several chapters just like this one, but they will appear randomly. There is no reason for this other than that I thought it would be creative, but if you disagree then please, politely let me know in the comments.**

 **This particular chapter is set during the same time as chapter one.**

 **Enjoy!**

xXx A Couple of Days Ago, Elsewhere... xXx

The Mission started off simple: Nightwing and Robin were to take care of a couple of Black Mask's men while Batman broke into the Joker's hideout.

Easy enough, right?

Batman thought so, and that's why he didn't worry about the two younger heroes as he crept through the foliage surrounding his destination. The lenses of Batman's cowl narrowed as he recognized the building - that was the Joker's very first hideout. The Joker was never one to do the same thing twice, so there was no reason for him to be reusing a building.

Something wasn't right.

 _'Hey B.'_ Nightwing's voice suddenly said in his earpiece. _'We handled the thugs and now we're on our way to your location.'_

That quickly? He had almost forgotten how well Nightwing and Robin performed together, even with their clashing personalities. Well, he certainly wasn't complaining. If they were able to regroup with him quickly, then it wouldn't take the three of them too long to foil the villain's plans. "Understood. Maintain radio silence from this point on. The Joker's hideout is in sight."

 _'Understood. Nightwing out.'_

The radio went silent, and Batman crept closer to the building. So far, he couldn't spot any snipers, and there was an absence of any thugs guarding the exterior. It was so quiet that Batman could hear the shift of the fallen leaves on the ground as a breeze came through.

Wait. It _was_ very quiet. That itself should have set off an alarm bell in his head. The Joker was always making a ruckus somewhere. He probably couldn't even sit still for more than a few minutes. If it was that quiet, there was a good chance that the clown wasn't even there.

Batman growled and picked up his pace. When he was at a close enough range, he grappled up to an open window. Another alarm bell went off in his head as he landed. Joker wasn't stupid enough to leave an open exit unguarded. Something definitely was up...

Beep.

Batman stopped, inches away from jumping off of the window ledge.

Beep.

His eyes swerved over to the corner, where he saw a timer counting down. He had five seconds left. Without thinking, he jumped backwards out of the window and pulled his cape in front of his face. The warehouse then exploded, and the force of the blast threw him a few yards away. He was aware of the massive amounts of heat surrounding him, the way his leg twisted when he hit the ground, and the large piece of rubble that landed on top of his back. He had a brief meeting with unconsciousness, but he forced himself out of it.

Everything went still.

Batman slowly pushed himself off of the ground, gritting his teeth as he struggled to remove the rubble off of him. After a few tries he managed to push it to the side and sit up. Flames ate up at the remains of the building, and it wouldn't take long before he was caught in it. He had to move.

He slowly got to his knees and pushed himself up to his feet. Immediately, a sharp pain engulfed his ankle, and he let out a short puff of air to keep himself from moaning. Every step he took was painful but after the first five, he was able to ignore it. When he was safely away from the destruction, he activated his comm once again. "Batman to Nightwing."

 _'Nightwing here. What's up, B?'_

Batman narrowed his eyes. 'What's up'? What kind of hero says 'what's up'? Scowling, he replied. "The lead was a false one." He then looked down at the computer installed in his wrist. There were two dots on the other side of the map of Gotham, the opposite direction they were supposed to be in. Was it that difficult to do what they were told? "Care to tell me why yours and Robin's signals are on the other side of Gotham?"

 _'Um, what? Batman, we're in the same building as you."_

Batman glanced over at the fiery remains of the warehouse. He was certain that they were most definitely not in there. "...Where are you?"

A pause. _'The abandoned candle factory on Whipple Street."_

He knew that place. He went there for a school trip when he was a kid. Not that that was important. "I'm not there."

 _'What? But-'_ his voice changed to one of concern. Good, he was finally taking this seriously. _'Someone must have messed with my ability to track your signal. There's foul play."_

"Agreed. I'm tracking your signal as of now. Leave the premises of the building, but stay nearby. Once I am there, we will investigate the cause."

 _'Understood. Nightwing out.'_

His eyes sought the remains of the building once again. Just what was Joker planning? He was about to turn away from the chaos when a fluttering object caught his eye. A lone Joker card drifted through the air, landing at his feet. He crouched down, ignored the way his ankle protested, and picked it up, inspecting it closely. He then turned it over and paused.

A robin symbol was on the back.

His eyes narrowed dangerously. Was that a threat, or was Joker messing with him? It could definitely be both. He considered radioing his son but decided against it. Nightwing was there, and he wouldn't let anything happen to the younger. They would both be fine.

"It's Batman!"

The vigilante spun around and finally took notice of the squad of men. Promising himself to mentally scold himself for not noticing them, later, he quickly threw a smoke pellet to the ground and crept towards the forest.

"Where did he go? He's using smoke to get away!"

Batman slipped through the coverage and made his way around the squad, batarang in hand. His stealth was perfect up until the moment his entire leg attempted to give out on him, and he stumbled, stepping on a twig. He then froze, praying that the goons were too inexperienced to have been listening to him.

"I found him!" One of the men exclaimed as they turned around.

No such luck.

Batman dove to the side to avoid being struck by the onslaught of bullets and latched onto a tree branch. He then climbed up the remainder of the tree, being careful to not make too much noise and to balance his weight to avoid breaking any branches. When he was at a safe enough distance, he put a hand up to his comm. "Nightwing, I'm preoccupied." He said without greeting. "You and Robin are to go back to the Bat Cave."

There was a long period of silence before he got a response. _'Sorry B, but we're preoccupied too.'_

"He's up there, in the trees!" Someone announced before shooting at him.

Batman grunted and threw an explosive disk at him. The man shouted upon impact and fell to the ground, unconscious. "Preoccupied with what?" He growled. Didn't he tell them to leave the building?

 _'Ah, you know, the usual. The Joker threw me a welcome back party. I thought it would be kinda rude to decline his gracious invitation.'_

This was not a time for jokes. "Decline it anyways," he snapped. "The Joker isn't someone to take on by yourself. Grab Robin and retreat immediately."

He waited for a few seconds, but didn't receive another response. He assumed that Nightwing was busy trying to get himself out of his situation, so he forced himself not to worry. They would be fine, they have both dealt with the Joker before. Now he could deal with his own problem.

He jumped from his branch and used his cape to glide to the ground. As soon as he hit the ground, the other two men jumped out from behind their hiding spots and fired. Batman twisted out of range and rolled towards the man on the right, uncurling and wiping his feet out from under him. When he was down, Batman grabbed him by the collar and shoved his head against the ground, hard. When it was clear that he was unconscious, he slipped into the shadows again.

"Don't come anywhere near me!" The other man shouted. "I'm warning you, I won't hesitate to- ACK!"

Batman grabbed him by the back of his uniform and threw him into a nearby tree. He heard a couple of bones snap, but wasn't concerned. He knew his own strength, and it was clear that he didn't kill him.

Besides, Nightwing still hasn't said anything.

He put a finger to his ear. "Batman to-"He stopped short. Static filled his hearing. Unless Nightwing was out of range, he should be hearing silence, not static. Even if the earpiece was broken, it should have still been inside of his range. Batman's communications could be used throughout the entirety of Gotham City without issue, and some of his higher tech communication devices could connect to each other from other sides of the planet! With this in mind, it was almost impossible for him to be hearing static.

What did Joker do to him?

He tried Robin's communicator. "Batman to Robin." Silence. Not static, but silence. "Robin? Do you copy?"

There was no reply.

Robin was in range, but Nightwing was not? That made absolutely no sense, as the two of them were located in the same area not too long ago. There was definitely something wrong.

And Batman was going to find out what.

xXx

The journey to the abandoned candle factory was a short one, but it was filled with undesired thoughts. He was concerned that both Nightwing and Robin were in serious trouble, and the thought of either of them being injured sparked the protective instincts he had long since buried.

"Hahaha!" Came the Joker's laugh from inside the building, and he felt his muscles tense up in response. He hated the sound of that damned clown's voice. "I didn't realize how easy that would be! Did you see the look on his face? Priceless."

"Right you are, puddin!"

The look on whose face? And _what_ was easy?

He grappled up to a ledge and pulled himself inside through a window, closing it silently behind him. The lenses on his cowl narrowed as he took in his surroundings. There were three men, plus Joker and Harley, and none of them appeared to be armed with guns. The clown probably was, but the chances of him actually shooting Batman were very slim.

The odds were with him.

Without wasting any time, Batman launched himself off of the window ledge and tackled the closest man to the ground. The force of that was enough to take him out, since he was already injured before.

"Oh, hiya B-Man!"

Batman ignored Harley and moved on to the next man, stunning him with his cape and then taking him out with a couple of punches to the head.

And then with a kick to the ribs, just to be safe.

The third one pulled out a knife, but Batman was in no mood for it. While the man tried to slice at him, the vigilante sidestepped and then disarmed him by slamming his elbow into the crook of the thug's arm. The man yelped, and attempted to retreat, but Batman was not having any of that. It only took a quick head but to the thug's forehead to knock him out.

Next was Harley.

Batman twisted out of the way just in time to avoid being smacked in the head with a mallet. He ducked, turned, and sidestepped to avoid several attempted hits, eyes narrowed in concentration. Harleen was not like a normal thug, she was faster than most of his foes, and her acrobatics were easier to deal with when he had Nightwing's matching style to counter her with. Brute force didn't always beat speed, and if he wanted to know what happened to the two younger heroes then he would have to outsmart her.

Or throw her off with the oldest trick in the book.

Batman rolled to the side to avoid another blow, and when he unfurled he flicked a batarang towards her. Harley ducked immediately, and when she came up she looked slightly put off. "Did you honestly think I could be hit that easily? I oughta-" the batarang slammed into the back of her head with enough force to knock her onto the ground, unconscious.

Joker didn't look very impressed by the shenanigans. "Hm... That took you a full five minutes. You are really starting to lose your touch! Old age, I presume?"

Batman spun around and grabbed Joker by the throat, nose flaring. He was not in the mood for the usual games, not tonight. "Where is Robin and Nightwing?" He demanded in a low growl.

A twisted, dark smile formed on the clown's face, and he threw his head back as much as Batman's death grip would allow, laughing. "You are _much_ too late for them."

His blood ran cold, and he tightened his grip. "What was that?"

"They're dead," Joker choked out, grinning at him with disgustingly yellow teeth. "I killed both of them in one shot."

He froze. "You _what_?"

"Heh, I didn't even mean to get the original brat, just your new one. The other one just got in the way. Pity, I liked that one. His screams were like music to the ears"

Dick and Damian were... gone? No. They couldn't be. "Liar," he hissed, shoving the giggling man away from him. "You would be showing off their corpses if you killed them!"

"Yes, that does sound like me..." a shrug. "Couldn't though. They were completely obliterated by this new weapon." He snickered. "And you're about to join them." He suddenly pulled out a strangely designed gun and aimed at Batman's head, firing quickly. The Dark Knight barely managed to roll out of the way as a bright beam came towards him, and it hit a crate behind him instead. When he turned around to look at it, it was completely gone.

If Nightwing and Robin were hit by that... They had no chance of survival.

 _Joker killed them._

A loud snarl echoed through the factory as Batman moved, and in seconds, he had the clown pinned to the ground and had his hands wrapped around his pasty neck. The edges of his vision were filled with a dark crimson color, and his entire being screamed for blood to shed. He could only focus on this... this _monster_ that took his sons away from him.

Joker laughed from under him, but it sounded more like a strangled cough. That's when Batman realized that he was, indeed, strangling the clown, and that he was very close to becoming a murderer himself. With another deep growl, he forced himself away, choosing to instead create a crater in the closest wall. With his fist.

His control over himself didn't please the psychotic clown. "That... That's it?! Come on, Bats, I didn't kill the original Boy Blunder for this nonsense!" Another laugh came, this one not as strained as the last, due to being able to get air to his lungs. "I mean, seriously? This is what, the third rugrat I've gotten rid of? The fourth? Well, if you didn't care about them, I'm sure you have another one running around..."

In a second, the heel of Batman's boot connected with the Joker's side, earning a loud CRACK as several ribs snapped. The impact forced the clown to go flying backwards, and he slammed into the farthest wall, sliding down and slumping forward. Another round of laughter shortly followed, and Joker tilted his head back to spray blood out of his mouth. "Have I hit a nerve?" He asked with a giggle. His smile widened as the Dark Knight approached him, and he hurriedly pushed himself up to his feet. "Now now, Bats, there's no need for-" A gloved fist flew into his jaw, making his head snap to the side. "-violence."

Batman gave him the coldest glare he could muster, raising his fist for another strike. He couldn't kill the clown, no matter how much he desired to, but there was still hell to pay for killing his sons.

The sound of bones breaking and Joker's insane laughter was the only thing that could be heard for hours soon after.

xXx

"What happened?" Was the first thing Gordon asked as he surveyed the scene, wide eyes trained on the limp and bloody clown. His officers worked on getting the other criminals into cuffs and into the police cars, but they were unable to lay a hand on the Joker until the Arkham Asylum ambulance came. That would take a few minutes, which meant that the madman would have to suffer a little longer. Batman was fine with that.

"What do you think happened?" He snapped, sending him a glare.

There was a pause. "Well, you were obviously the one responsible for his list of injuries," his eyes racked over the blood on the hero's uniform. "but why? You have a strong control over yourself, so what was it that made you snap?"

His hands curled into fists at his sides, and the urge to send Joker into the afterlife rekindled. The mere thought of what he lost was enough to send him over the edge. If he thought about it too much, he would lose control, so the solution was to avoid thinking about it altogether. "Joker had this," he said, holding up the strange weapon that he used to destroy Nightwing and Robin. "I don't know where he found it, but it has the ability to completely obliterate its targets."

If Gordon was surprised by the change of subject, he didn't show it. Instead, he studied the weapon carefully, eyebrows drawn together in concern. "That's not the kind of weapon we want _any_ of our criminals to get their hands on."

"Agreed." Batman shoved the gun into an empty slot in his belt, but its presence did nothing to help his agitation. "I'm taking it to the Bat Cave for further analysis. I suspect that a force outside of Gotham is responsible for its creation, so it is possible that I will have to bring this to the Justice League for answers."

"Very well," Gordon agreed, but didn't look happy about his loss of evidence. The two of them watched as the ambulance finally made an appearance, and Batman barely restrained himself as Joker was lifted onto a stretcher and carried away. The Commissioner noticed his reaction, and gave him a puzzled look. "He must have really pushed your buttons today," he mused, watching him carefully, "which is strange, because I've only seen you react this way once."

Batman remained silent. Now that his anger had ebbed away, he was left with a hallow feeling in the pit of his stomach. His eyes became fixated on the spot where the crate had completely disappeared. Robin and Nightwing... They had met that same fate.

"Commissioner," An officer greeted, coming to a halt in front of the two. He looked at Batman hesitantly before pulling out a plastic bag. Inside were broken pieces of a black communicator, with what looked to be a yellow R in the center. "Found this over there." He pointed a thumb to his left. "Some other guys found birdarangs, and some other weird weapons that I haven't seen before."

Gordon glanced at Batman before replying, "Tell them to bring their evidence here." Minutes later, they were presented with Robin's red birdarangs, and a batarang that was fatter in style, and had blue trimming along the edges. The Commissioner's eyebrows rose when he saw these, and he handed the weapons to the silent vigilante. "Didn't realize that Nightwing was in town."

Batman remained silent, and another man spoke up, "Nightwing, as in the hero of Bludhaven?" His eyes widened, but he hid his surprise with a sheepish smile. "I guess that makes sense. He was a Robin at some point, right?" His gaze fell onto the blue and black batarangs. "So what does he call _his_ weapons? Nightarangs?"

"Wingdings," Batman corrected without much thought.

Gordon laughed. "Sounds like something he would say, that kid of yours was always playing with words, never doing things the normal way. Almost like a cheerful version of you, I'd say." He looked around. "So where are they anyways? Are they waiting for the opportune moment to sneak up on me?"

There was no reply. Instead, the Dark Knight tightened his grip on the plastic bag holding both of his son's weapons. His throat tightened to the point where he didn't trust himself to speak. Something in the air shifted, and everyone in the room seemed to finally be aware of the grief that clung to the vigilante like a cloak. Gordon quietly ushered everyone out, and soon, the two of them were all that remained.

There was a period of strained silence before the Commissioner spoke up again, "He killed them, didn't he? That's why you did what you did."

Batman remained silent.

"I'm sorry," the older man said softly, turning away. "They were good kids. I remember back in the day when you had your first Robin. It really changed you for the bett-" he turned back around, only to see that he was now talking to himself. He sighed. "One dead was bad enough, but now there's three? If he was their father like rumor says, then he must be going through hell..."

Batman paused in the window ledge, taking his words into consideration before finally leaping out. Yes, that could definitely be said to describe what he was going through.

...His sons were dead, and just like that, the light to his darkness was extinguished.

xXx

 **AN: So, what did you think? Bad idea? Good idea? An alright idea that doesn't affect you in the slightest? Please tell me! I was originally going to have this chapter be a part of a separate story, but, uh, with my updating problem I decided that that would be a horrible idea, but then I had this idea instead! Yay!**

 **These chapters will serve as an explanation to things that will happen later in the main storyline. They are completely optional, so if you see the words "Batman's Adventures" for a chapter title, you can completely skip over it if you want. You won't hurt Bruce's feelings. Probably.**

 **See you next chapter!**

 **(And in case you've somehow forgotten, Nightwing and Robin aren't actually dead. xD)**


	6. Intercepted Ambush

Saying goodbye to the circus troupe was painful, especially since Dick's oblivious parents were present during the farewell party held last night. He had barely spoken a few words to the couple during his stay, and now he was leaving them altogether, possibly for good. He and Damian were aiming to return to their own world, a place where the only person remotely close to a parent figure was the unemotional Bruce Wayne.

Maybe it was for the best that he left, Dick thought to himself as he carried his and Damian's luggage to the stationed taxi car outside. They weren't _really_ his parents, his had perished many years ago and there was nothing he could ever do to change that. If he felt guilty for seemingly replacing them with Bruce, then he would feel a totally new level of guilt if he had stayed in this universe. He had to let his old life go, and that meant his dead parents as well.

"We need to talk."

Dick nearly jumped; he had been so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't notice his 'brother', Robin, approach him. "I'm on a tight schedule..." Dick muttered, but set a bag of worn out clothes down at his feet. The worst thing about this new universe was his siblings- Dick never knew how to act around them. Mari seemed to like him just fine, he might even say that she adored him, but Robin seemed to always be planning his murder from afar. Dick didn't know what he did wrong, but he never brought it up. If Robin wanted to tell him what was going on, then he would. He didn't want to press him for answers and make the kid hate him even more.

"I just need to check something.. Here, I'll just take these-" As Dick opened his mouth to ask what he wanted, Robin swiped the sunglasses off of his face. Immediately, the two boys stiffened, for completely different reasons. "I _knew_ you looked familiar!"

Dick's eyes widened, and he hurriedly took his shades back and shoved them onto his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said quickly, looking around to make sure that no one saw his face.

"You can't fool me, Richard," Robin said coldly, crossing his arms. "What the hell are you doing back here?! I thought we had a deal!"

"...I seriously have no idea what you're talking about, Robin." Dick paused. "Wait. There _is_ another me?!"

" _Another_ you?" A growl. "I'm not going to fall for another one of your tricks! Not this time!"

"It's not a trick!" Dick exclaimed, the gears in his head whirling. "I'm guessing that you know the me from this universe, but I'm from a different one! I'm just trying to find a way back home."

Before Robin could explode at him, Dick launched into a full explanation, even going as far as telling him about his own universe to ensure that he was believed. By the end of the long story, Robin's face relaxed ever so slightly, a sign that he was no longer hostile. "Wow... Another universe. One where Dick _isn't_ a dick..." he snorted at his own joke, and shook his head. "You've been entirely too nice to be Richard, so I guess I have no choice but to believe you. But you need to stay away from my parents. If they ever found out who you were, we would have a _big_ problem."

Dick frowned at his statement, trying to piece together the mystery surrounding his alternate self. It seemed as though the Dick Grayson from this universe was a sore subject, but why? "What happened to me in this universe? You said that you made a deal with him, which means that he's still alive, right?"

"Yeah, he's around." Robin's eyes flashed with an emotion that Dick couldn't pinpoint. "But that's not a good thing, per say."

What was _that_ supposed to mean? He was about to ask this out loud when a familiar voice shouted at him, "Father, I will leave without you if you do not appear within the next minute!" Damian announced, glaring at him from the taxi.

Dick looked over his shoulder. "Hang on, I'll be right there!" But when he turned back, Robin was gone. "I guess _that_ runs in the family," he mused, though he was slightly put off. He was so close to finding out what happened to himself in this universe...

"Father!"

But that was something to dwell on another time. "Is it bad that I love hearing him call me that?" Dick asked himself before replying, "On my way!" He shouted.

With one last glance towards the circus tent, Dick turned on his heel and stalked towards the awaiting car.

xXx

Hours later, Nightwing found himself sticking to the shadows with a more familiar Robin at his side, both of them eyeing the warehouse they were sent to bust into. "We're in position," he whispered into his new communicator, not bothering to hide his distaste for the 'S' insignia printed on its shell. Ignoring those feelings for now, he activated his holo glove and rapidly typed in a series of commands. "Bypassing security now."

 _"Good,"_ Deathstroke said in his earpiece. _"Renegade and I are now in position as well. Give us the word."_

Nightwing glanced down at Robin, who nodded firmly. "I'm ready to go home," he murmured, bringing out a birdarang. "So let's kick these wannabe Talons where it hurts, and return to where we belong."

Nightwing grinned. He enjoyed it when Damian didn't bother with being proper. "Right. Let's show everyone how the _real_ Justice League handles things." He deactivated his glove and brought his hand back up to his earpiece. "Security has been successfully hacked."

 _"I just received word from L. It seems we might have encountered a snag in our scheme."_ It was Wally on the other line, this time. He was monitoring their progress from inside of a temporary base of operations, and was their eyes and ears when they didn't have time to scope out the scene themselves. He was also the messenger of L, the mysterious one-lettered leader of the Resistance. _"We were promised inexperienced Talons; a simple inconvenience. Well, it looks like our information was wrong. Inside, you'll be facing the Court's top Talon, along with some of the lackeys we had already been expecting. It might be wise to retreat, but since it's Deathstroke leading this mission, I kinda doubt that's going to happen."_

 _"Renegade and I have dealt with this one before. The two aliens may retreat if they wish, but I will not cower away."_

Aliens? Nightwing bristled; okay, so they were from a different universe, but that didn't necessarily make them aliens... Did it? "Robin and I will remain in the field as well." He narrowed his eyes. " _Someone_ has to keep an eye on the assassin."

There was a short chuckle from Deathstroke's side. _"Ex-assassin, my stubborn ally. If you continue to be blinded by your hate for my alternate self, I must insist that you remain behind. Your emotions will only get in our way."_

"We will be able to contain our disgust, for now," Robin hissed, joining in on the conversation. "Now if we're done with this pointless bickering, are we finally going to fight our actual enemy?"

 _"The kid's right,"_ Wally chimed in. _"We're on a tight schedule. If the Court reboots their security before we're done they'll call in back up, and you four will be captured and will likely experience the sensation of being decapitated. As fun as that sounds, I wouldn't recommend it." There was a clicking noise in the background. "Okay, I'm looking at the security footage now. The boss man seems to be speaking with someone, using some sort of communication device."_

"Of course the Court would break their own laws," Robin muttered.

Wally snorted. _"Well joke's on them, because we can use that to our advantage. That Talon, Chicken, as I like to call him, is in a separate room. The other six are patrolling in the main chamber, just wandering around. There are two stationed in front of the storage room, which happens to be our destination. If you can silently take down each of the lackeys and get the equipment without alerting Chicken, then hallelujah, you've got yourselves a one way ticket back to your fairytale universe."_

 _"Understood,"_ Deathstroke said firmly.

"Yeah, we got it, KF."

 _"... If that stands for what I think it stands for, I'll give you a bloody nose."_

Nightwing smiled and removed his hand from the device. "Alright little D, let's go. We're going to take them out, Gotham style."

Robin smirked, and brought his hood over his head. "They won't know what hit them," he said confidently, hugging the wall while he moved towards the nearest window. Nightwing kept a careful watch on their surrounding while the younger hero climbed into the building, and after a few seconds, Nightwing joined him.

Robin pulled him to the side the moment he entered, and Nightwing held his breath as a Talon walked past their hiding spot behind a gun rack. Robin nudged his side, and Nightwing nodded his head in compliance with the silent question. Robin smirked and in a blur of colors, he came up behind the retreating Talon and jumped up to cover his mouth and nose. Nightwing joined him just in time to catch the man as he fell unconscious, and the two heroes dragged the body behind the rack for safe keeping.

One down, five more to go.

The remaining Talons fell in similar ways, either by the heroes' hands, or the ex-assassins'. It only took a few minutes for them to knock out every single soldier, though the two standing in front of the storage room were slightly difficult. That was, until Renegade threw a canister of knockout gas in front of them.

 _"Excellent work,"_ Wally told them as Nightwing picked the room's lock. _"If I were there, I_ _ **might**_ _have offered some high-fives. But, as it is, I'm not the field kind of guy."_ Nightwing resisted the urge to snort. _"Okay, inside there is a large crate labeled: Extraterrestrial Weaponry. It is_ _ **extremely**_ _fragile, and if you drop it, losing your head will seem pretty mild compared to the death you'll experience."_

The door swung open, and the group was met with a small room filled with boxes. In the corner, like KF had said, was the crate they were looking for. "Allow me," Deathstroke said, kneeling down to pick it up.

"No, allow me," an unfamiliar voice said from behind them.

Robin suddenly cried out in pain, and before Nightwing knew it, the boy was on his knees, pulling a dagger out of his shoulder. "No!" Nightwing exclaimed, eyes widening. He moved towards his injured comrade, but he was pushed out of the way by Renegade, which saved him from experiencing a knife being embedded in his neck.

"Talon..." Deathstroke murmured. " _The_ Talon."

"Oh, I earned a 'The'? I'm honored that you hold me in such high respect, Slade." There was a lifeless chuckle.

Nightwing spun around to finally face this enemy. The man was around his height, had a similar build, but every other feature was hidden by his uniform. "So you're the famous Talon we've heard about," Robin said, shakily getting back up to his feet. Nightwing felt his worry intensify as he studied his little brother. He was pale, already had a line of sweat going down his face, and his wound...

"Yep," the Talon popped the 'p' sound, and Nightwing could _hear_ his smug grin. "Famous, _and_ I get a The? Wow, I'm moving far in my career." He reached behind his back and pulled a sword out. "Well, I didn't get this far from my good looks alone. Prepare to meet your end, intruders."

Deathstroke growled. "Do you actually know how to use that sword, boy?" He snarled, drawing his own.

There was another laugh. "Again with the theatrics, old man? You should've stayed at home with your little traitor." He tilted his head. "After all, it was only because of your sidekick that you got away last time..."

Deathstroke narrowed his eyes before launching himself forward, crashing into Talon and pushing him out of the room. Renegade immediately brought his hand up to his comm, speaking calmly, "We are locked in battle with the problematic Talon. Requesting backup, now." He paused as if listening to someone, but Nightwing couldn't hear Wally in his own comm. Odd. "No, that is not possible at this time, the device is at too much risk... Yes, the two aliens are here."

Nightwing froze, staring at Renegade long and hard. Did he hear that right? His voice... now that he thought about it, it sounded _so_ familiar. And, who was he talking to? It obviously wasn't Wally, since he already knew that he and Damian were involved in the raid. But if not him, then who?

Dick studied Deathstroke's partner for a moment longer, before one crucial detail finally caught his eye _. Renegade wasn't wearing any shoes._

Dark skin... familiar voice... no shoes... good with a sword...

"Kaldur," he breathed, taking a step backwards. Normally, seeing a familiar face would bring him joy during these dark times, but this Kaldur was not his ally. He wasn't even _Deathstroke's_ ally!

Ironically, he should have seen this coming; the presence of a Renegade always meant that someone would be betrayed.

"You must have encountered your universe's version of myself," Rene- Kaldur said quietly, carefully drawing one of his swords and falling into a fighting stance. "And just like yours, you must have deduced that I am also a member of the Justice League."

"How could you, Kal?" Dick hissed, masked eyes searching his friend's face for any sign of remorse. He found none. "The League executes their criminals, something that you and I both vowed against. That's not justice, it's cold blooded vengeance!"

"I am not the man you know, Grayson. Unlike my counterpart, I am not the fool who believes in pitiful moral codes."

Nightwing wasn't sure who moved first, but all too soon he had found himself blocking blows from the other man, and using any opening he could find to retaliate. Kaldur quickly gained the upper hand, but what he didn't know was that Dick knew his fighting style like the back of his hand.

"Yield!" The Atlantian shouted, aiming for the hero's ribcage. As the sword came around to his side, Nightwing sprang into the air and came down just in time to land on the blade. Kaldur's masked eyes widened fractionally in surprise, and Dick smirked as he back flipped off, swinging his feet into Renegade's jaw as he did so, successfully knocking him onto his back. Kaldur seemed to have lost his grip on his weapon during his fall, for it sat a few inches to its wielder's left.

Nightwing snatched it up before Kaldur could so much as twitch, and the hero pointed it at his enemy's chest. "Give it up, Kal. It doesn't have to be like this."

Renegade simply glared up at him. "I will not surrender. You will have to end my life, or I will end yours."

"Actually, that honor is mine." Dick spun around to face the owner of the voice, and cried out in pain as a small dagger was shoved into his right shoulder. "Nightwing, is it?" The Talon suddenly dropped to the floor, and balanced on his hands as he kicked Dick's feet out from under him. "I've heard so many things about you..."

Nightwing grit his teeth as he flipped himself over and jumped back up to his feet. "Well, I think I can say I'm a lot more handsome in person," he joked, though his voice held a pained tone. "Stronger, too."

The Talon tilted his head. "Ah, there are those childish antics I've been warned about." He pulled out another dagger, and threw it in the air absent mindedly. "It's been a while since I've met someone who appreciates the art of a good joke." He then caught it by it's hilt perfectly, and pretended to examine it before thrusting it towards Dick's stomach. Nightwing jumped back just as the tip of the blade ripped through his uniform.

"You remind me of a clown that I left back at home." Dick twisted out of the way of another jab, grabbing his wrist and pulling his arm back at an awkward angle. Before he could break it, the Talon surprised him by pulling him forward into yet another blade. Their close proximity made it impossible to dodge, and Nightwing soon had several inches of a knife being shoved into his stomach.

Needless to say, Dick lost his grip on the arm he wanted to break.

"We're more alike than you would think." Talon bent backwards into a handstand, kicking the underside of Nightwing's chin as he brought his feet back to the ground. Dick stumbled backwards from the blow; he didn't expect to be hit by one of his own moves. Just who was this guy? "The difference between you and I? One, I don't wear tights." In a blur of black, he sped forward and slammed a fist into his opponent's chest with all of his might. The force of impact finally knocked the hero off of his feet, and he landed not too far away from Renegade. "Two, I never wasted precious training time by training with Deathstroke or Batman. You, however, seemed to have blended their moves together and called it your own style. Not only is that pretty lame, but your lack of originality makes you weak."

Dick used his elbows to lift his torso off of the ground, wincing as he upset his wounded stomach. How did Talon know that he worked with both Batman _and_ Deathstroke? That should have been impossible; there were only a handful of people who knew about that in _his_ universe. Someone from here should have been clueless to his origins.

"Grayson..."

Dick finally remembered Damian, and he looked over to where he last left the kid. Immediately, his stomach dropped. Robin was huddled against the farthest wall, clutching his wounded shoulder as he tried to control his shivering. His face was slightly green, as if he were ill, and that same color tinted the edges around his wound. That blade had been laced with _poison_.

"Dami!" Dick brought his hands to the ground in order to push himself back up, but he was forced to stop by Talon, who pushed him back onto his back with one of his feet. Nightwing felt panic blossom in his chest; he had to help Damian! He would die if he didn't get the right treatment.

"That's another reason why I'm better than you, Grayson." The way his surname was spat brought shivers down Dick's spine. "We do not share the weakness of caring for others. I have learned many years ago that caring brings you no where."

"What a cliche thing to say." Nightwing wrapped his hands around Talon's ankle, and used all of his strength to try and push him off.

"Perhaps..." Talon added pressure on Nightwing's chest, causing the other man to squeeze his eyes shut. "But I'm just looking out for you. Those who I used to care about only left me in the dust. My family, my friends, they abandoned me without a second thought." He slowly removed his foot, and stood off to the side. Dick groaned and gingerly brought his hand up to where Talon's foot had just occupied. Oh yeah, that definitely left a bruise.

"That's no excuse to do what you have been doing." He sat up once more, eyeing the man warily. "It's not right to make everyone else pay for what has been done to you."

There was a short, disbelieving laugh. "Of course it's right! My experience has taught me that everyone in this damned world is exactly the same, so why should I care?" He crossed his arms over his chest, studying the other. "And the funny thing is, you would have learned the same thing if your parents hadn't died."

Dick's blood ran cold. "How do you know about that?!"

The Talon snorted. "I'm surprised you didn't figure it out already. Honestly, for the sidekick of the World's Greatest Detective, you're a bit slow. Do I really have to spell it out for you?" He brought his hand up to the top of his mask, and swiftly pulled it away.

When Dick caught sight of who he had been fighting, it felt like a punch to the gut. The smirking figure standing above him... was _him_. Messy black hair stuck up all over the place on his head, sharp blue eyes watched his every move, even his nose was perfectly identical.

If Dick didn't know better, he would have claimed that he had only been looking at some sort of warped reflection. "You're... me?" His eyes moved around his face, hoping to spot any sign of being incorrect.

"Mm. Richard Grayson, prodigal son of the Flying Graysons, given to the Court of Owls as a gift." He rolled his eyes. "And you are also Richard Grayson, though you still prefer to go by Dick. Your parents were murdered when you were eight, and you were adopted by Bruce Wayne as his ward. At age nine, you became Robin, the first official sidekick of the Justice League, and at eighteen, you quit. In between becoming that and becoming Nightwing, you were kidnapped by-"

Dick found himself suddenly standing in front of his counterpart, holding him by the throat. "Don't," he hissed, glaring daggers at the smirking villain. " _Don't_ talk about that."

Talon simply smiled, in effected by his rage. "Your history as Renegade is a touchy subject, isn't it? There were several instances where you learned under Deathstroke... but it was the time after adulthood that haunts you the most. I have always wondered why." Before Dick could angrily lash out, Richard grabbed him by the shoulders and headbutted him to knock him off balance. As Nightwing stumbled back, Talon jumped into the air and delivered a spin kick to the side of his face.

Dick quickly became reacquainted with the ground.

"How do you know so much about me?" He ground out, trying to ignore his pounding headache.

"Because the Court of Owls has created a device that enables us to watch over other universes. We have no interest in crossing over to one, but we keep an eye out for possible recruits that aren't in our own world." He shrugged. "I mostly watch the other versions of myself; there seems to be some consistency in what happens to them. Either we join the Court, Batman, or Deathstroke." He grinned. "Or in your case, the last two."

Dick glanced over at Damian, whose head was drooped over one of his shoulders, unconscious. Not good. They had to get out of there, fast. Wally had to have noticed that they ran into trouble; there must have been backup on the way. If Dick kept Richard talking, then there was still a chance of getting out of there alive.

"And I just so happened to be sent here?"

"I can assure you that the Joker coincidentally sent you to this universe. Like I said, we don't travel to other worlds." He shook his head at him. "And why would I have you sent here, out of all of our counterparts? I will admit that you're story in somewhat interesting, but that's it." Richard took out something that looked like a smoke pellet. Dick felt relieved; if Talon was escaping, then that meant he could finally go help Damian. "Well this has been fun, but the Justice League is a few seconds away from breaking in, and even I can't win against all of them at once."

Dick froze. How could he forget that Kaldur called in the League?!

"Au revoir," Richard brought his mask over his head and dropped his pellet.

Instead of smoke, knockout gas filled the air. Dick made the mistake of taking in a sharp breath of surprise, and so his lungs were immediately filled with gas. As the room began to blur, the sound of shouts and footsteps leading towards the room rang in his ears. The League was there, and they were _all_ helpless. He had no idea where Deathstroke was, but Robin was unconscious, Dick was seconds away from joining him, and even if Kaldur _had_ been awake, he would be knocked out soon as well.

"Bats, the two escaped prisoners are in here!"

Dick allowed his eyes to fall closed.

xXx

 **AN: Several plot twists, all wrapped up in one chapter! :D**

 **Thanks for all of your reviews from last chapter! I'll see you all next time!**


	7. Batman's Adventures: Part Two

Batman entered the meeting room in the Watchtower, and briefly met the gaze of everyone gathered. "Is everyone here?" He asked gruffly, and received a noises of confirmation. He nodded in return and reached down to pull Joker's gun out of his belt, and tossed it onto the table. It landed on the surface with a CLANK, and several eyes narrowed at the sight of it.

"What is this?" Superman was the first to ask, stretching his arm out to pick it up. His stared at it for a moment, and then set it down with a frown. "It's inner workings are not like any other gun I've seen. Not on Earth, at least."

Flash took it next. "I'm guessing by it's structure that it doesn't shoot any projectiles like bullets, right? Looks like this baby fires laser beams or something." Several Leaguers looked impressed by his deduction; Wally was turning out to be an excellent replacement for the original Flash.

"Correct." Batman circled around the table to take his seat. "This weapon doesn't use bullets, it fires a high energy beam that has the capability of disintegrating its targets, including human flesh." His gaze hardened as he said this, but it was unseen by the others due to his cowl.

"And I'm guessing you know this from experience?" Green Arrow asked with a raised eyebrow.

"..." Batman did not answer that, choosing to move on with his explanation. "I came across this weapon in Gotham, it was in the hands of the Joker." His words immediately brought tension to the air, for everyone was more than aware of the danger the clown was with such a powerful weapon. "As far as I know, Joker only murdered two people with the gun, and did not use it for any other purpose."

"It was just another one of his games, then?" Wonder Woman said in disgust. "That man needs a leash, or at least a more secure cell than what you have in Gotham."

Red Arrow snorted. "Right, like any other prison will be able to keep him under control. The best place for Joker is right where he is." He leaned back in his chair, looking unconcerned with the news. "Besides, everyone knows Joker throws a fit anytime someone but Batman intervenes with his schemes. If we transfer him to another city, he'll have a tantrum. And we don't _need_ to see what he'll do when he's upset."

"That would also be completely unnecessary, considering that he's in a full body cast in the hospital," Batman said gruffly, looking down at the subtle blood splatters on his chest. Instead of his bloodlust dying down after he sent the clown to the emergency room, it only grew. He never felt this before- a desperate need to rip out someone's throat. And for some reason, he wasn't wary of this new feeling. He was all on board with his murderous feelings.

Which was a sign he either needed a psychiatrist or a good night's sleep. Or both.

Superman tensed. "A full body cast? The last time you put him in one of those was when he killed Jason." He stared at Batman, and winced when he picked up on his quickened heartbeat that was caused by his last sentence. "Okay, who died?"

There was a pregnant pause- Batman held everyone's full attention now, if their wide eyed stares were anything to go by. He sighed, and for the first time in forever he hated how he had to be the emotionless one. He wished that he could lower his head, cry, something _other_ than keeping up his stoic expression... But he was the Batman. He wasn't allowed to show emotions while in costume. "Nightwing came into town, we went on patrol. They were to take down a couple of thugs while I located the Joker. They ended up finishing early, and I told them they could help me find Joker. To make this story short, we ended up at two different locations: I at an irrelevant building that Joker lured me to, and Nightwing and Robin at the place where Joker really was." He paused, struggling to come up with the right words. "When I finally made it to the right location, both Nightwing and Robin were long gone." There was a sharp intake of breath from Flash. "...They were struck by the disintegration beam."

In a split second, Flash was on his feet and glaring at the Dark Knight. "No, you're wrong. Nightwing would have been able to get out of the way in time! Dick is alive, he has to be."

Superman stood as well. "Wally, calm dow-"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" The speedster exclaimed. "That's my best friend you're trying to say is dead!"

"Do you think I'm saying this for my own amusement?" Batman snapped, returning the glare. "Do you think I nearly broke my no kill rule for the hell of it? Do any of you know me to declare someone to be dead without checking the facts?!" Everyone fell silent, and he finally got up to his feet as well. "Dick and Damian are dead, and this is what killed them. I understand you're grieving but instead of being ignorant, let's investigate where this weapon came from so that we won't have to see lose anyone else like this."

Zatanna finally cleared her throat, and she wiped the tears away from the corners of her eyes while everyone turned to face her. "I agree, the threat of the weapon has to be our priority. But, I must ask... Who have you told so far?"

"Agent A, and the GCPD," Batman replied smoothly. "How is that relevant to the task at hand?"

"It's not." She bit her lip and stood. "But I'm sure Oracle would like to hear about this from one of us personally, instead of from the news."

Oh, _Barbara_. Bruce had forgotten all about her. He now felt a small amount of guilt; Dick and Barbara were engaged. Barbara would be a sobbing mess when she found out that her boyfriend was... gone.

But still, that wasn't a strong enough excuse for Zatanna to leave the meeting early. "Oracle can wait to hear the news until after we discuss what to do about this weapon. For all we know, there could be someone creating more of these things and selling them to criminals."

"...No. You don't understand." Zatanna slowly stood, eyelids half closed in sadness. "Oracle didn't want to tell anyone yet, not until she told Nightwing herself..." She bit her lip. "I have to be the one to tell her. If she doesn't hear it from a friend, she'll be absolutely broken."

Batman stood straighter, eyes widening slightly. Was she implying...?

Superman seemed to pick up on her not so subtle hints as well. "Is Oracle... Pregnant?"

Zatanna sighed, and nodded. "She is, and Nightwing is the father."

"...!" The news shocked everyone into silence. A mixture of grief and pity was shared through the occupants of the room, each of them saddened by the unborn child's loss. Oh, and Barbara's too. Everyone in the League had been ecstatic when the couple announced their engagement; they all adored the pairing. But now Dick was gone. Barbara lost her future husband, and their child lost his father. The baby would grow up without ever seeing him.

Bruce fell back into his chair and let his shoulders slump. This was too much.


	8. Chapter 8

As a hero, Dick was familiar with waking up after a trying battle. So when all he could feel when he came to was pain, he had a faint idea of what was going on. Any second now, Bruce would suddenly appear at his bedside, scold him for not being careful, and then begin to fret over him like the mother hen he knew he was. And then other people would show up, all expressing their concerns and wishing him a speedy recovery. That's how it worked when another hero was injured. Everyone expresses how much they're glad that they're okay, because honestly, anything is better than being dead.

So when no one immediately began to hound him to open his eyes, Dick was apprehensive. And that's why he cut his dreaming short and forced himself to sit up. Or at least, he tried to. But the straps holding him down to the medbay bed prevented him from doing so. Uh, that was awkward... Why did the Justice League strap him down?

And that's when he remembered: he was in an alternate universe.

"Great," he muttered, and groggily moved his eyes around the area. Okay, no one else was in the room, but he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Evil Justice Leaguers weren't exactly what he wanted to deal with at the moment, but on the other hand, laying in a random bed all day was sure to get boring. And with Dick's hatred of sitting still for more than a minute at a time, he was already becoming agitated with the situation he was in. Heh, Damian was going to be-

Wait. _Damian_.

The heart monitor next to him announced his sudden quickening of pulse. The fight with Renegade and Richard was rapidly coming back to him, but the main thing on his mind was when Damian was stabbed by a poisoned dagger. His last memory of what had happened to Damian was not a good one; the kid was basically dying in front of his eyes while he himself was defeated by Talon. Was Damian even alive now?

The door leading into his room slid open, and Batman, Flash, and Wonder Woman filed inside. "I see you're awake," the Dark Knight said monotonously. "Good. Now you can answer my questions."

"The kid literally just woke up," Flash mumbled, grimacing. "Shouldn't we give him some space-"

Batman sent him a glare. "Nightwing was working with the Resistance, and the information he might have is too valuable to ignore."

Dick sent him the fiercest glare he had. "Fuck you, Bruce. The only thing I'm capable of caring about right now is _your_ son. So you better tell me where he is, or you'll be the first in this universe's JLA to learn to not piss me off."

The bat-glare was redirected towards him, but Dick did not back down. He was beyond furious already, and this universe's version of his guardian was not helping by being present. _His_ Bruce always had a way of making him angry just by being within five feet of him, but this one was ten times more full of himself. And he did not have the patience for his bullshit.

"...He's bat-glaring," Flash whispered to Wonder Woman. "The kid knows how to bat-glare?"

"Would you stop calling me a kid?" Dick snapped, scowling. "I haven't been a child since I put on a mask for the first time, and I'm definitely not one now. I'm only a couple of years over twenty, I've been a side mentor to three Robins, I've led a Team of teenage superheroes, I've been forced to become evil _three times_ , and now I'm living in a hell hole with no idea where my partner is. So instead of talking down to me like you're so high and mighty, why don't you actually say something useful and tell me where the hell Robin is?!"

Flash and Wonder Woman looked flabbergasted by his sudden outburst, but Batman remained stoic. The three Leaguers turned to each other, seemingly having a silent conversation. But Nightwing was a Bat, and being a Bat meant that he was a master at interpreting what was being silently exchanged. And judging by the small grimace Flash wore, the crease in Wonder Woman's forehead, and the slight clench in Batman's jaw, he knew there was something wrong.

"...Where's Damian?" He asked again, his voice strained. Wonder Woman gave him a look of pity, and he felt his throat tighten. "Where. Is. Damian?!" He shouted in a desperate tone, pulling on his restraints. The heart monitor was going crazy next to him, his panic making it impossible to keep himself together.

Batman turned his back on him. "The boy you call Robin was dead by the time we showed up." He must've heard the sharp breath Dick took in, but he ignored it. "We left the body where we found it. The Talon you were fighting must have set off a self destruct sequence in the warehouse, because the building was collapsing and we didn't have enough time to grab Robin."

"..."

"We are sorry for your loss," Wonder Woman said mournfully. "We might not be allies, but we know the pain of losing a comrade in battle."

"..." Dick could only stare at them, unable to process what was just told to him. Damian couldn't be dead, that was impossible. The kid had too strong of a will to simply... die. Dick couldn't wrap his head around any of this, couldn't imagine his little brother being anything but alive. Because Damian was the one person he never felt he needed to worry about, he was pretty much the only constant Dick had in his life. No matter what was going on, where they were, or who they were fighting, Damian was the one person Dick could count on to remain exactly the same. But now...He was gone? Never to make a sarcastic comment ever again?

He couldn't accept that. No, he promised Damian that they would _both_ go home, and now these wannabe Leaguers are telling him that he failed his little brother? Fuck that. "You're lying," he hissed, blue eyes burning with hatred. "Damian wouldn't leave me here. He's alive, you're just trying to trick me."

"I don't care if you believe us or not, we told you what happened. It's your choice whether you accept it or not." Batman gestured for the other Leaguers to follow him, and after giving Dick one last look, the three of them left the room. And suddenly, Dick was struck by not grief exactly, but loneliness. A part of him still didn't believe that Damian was dead, so he didn't allow himself to mourn, but he was aware of the fact that if Damian _was_ gone, then that meant that Dick was unmistakably alone.

Nightwing and Robin were able handle being in this universe this far because they had each other. They were able to ignore how awful their situation was because they had someone who understood what they were going through, and it was easy to be blind to how helpless they were with someone at their side. But now, Damian wasn't there. Dick was all alone in a messed up world, with no one to share his grief with. Bruce was gone, Wally was gone, Barbara was gone...

 _Damian was gone._

It finally hit him. He wasn't just abandoned by his little brother, but Damian had died. Unlike the people he left behind in his own universe, Dick had no hopes of ever seeing Damian ever again. He was permanently gone...

And for the first time in years, Dick felt tears the sting of tears in his eyes. "No..." the restraints around his wrists seemed suffocating now, as they were the only things preventing him from being able to flee. He was forced to lay there and torture himself with his regrets. He wasn't able to seek a distraction from any of this, he had to sit still and let his griefs cloud his mind. "Damian..."

xXx (Still in this universe) xXx

Bruce had found himself going through Nightwing's utility belt, hoping to find some sort of clue that would help him find a way to send him back to wherever he came from. He might have been cold hearted, but even he felt uncomfortable telling Grayson that his partner died in battle. If anyone could understand his pain, it would be him. He too lost a partner, and it destroyed him. And he could see that it was going the same to Nightwing, and he was now determined to send him back to where he belonged. Not only did Bruce not know how to help a stranger grieve, but having a person from a different universe was creating some problems in the fabric of space.

"It's correcting itself," Barry had told him earlier. "There are a lot of imbalances. It's only a matter of time before the other Earth's Grayson is wiped clean from our universe. There aren't supposed to be two of the same people here, after all. And since Damian never existed at all in this universe, he might have been able to live here without worry." He sighed. "But he's dead. And if the other Batman is as protective as you were with Barbara, I'm sure he'll be... Well, like what you were."

Bruce had promptly ignored that statement and went to work with trying to figure out how to send him back. If they managed to track down and kill Talon, then Grayson might have been able to continue living here, but Talons were very elusive, especially that one in particular. The only solution was to get Grayson the hell out of here and hope that he didn't do too much damage to the fabric of space.

Just then, he came across something in one of the most secure pockets in the belt; an engagement ring. "I didn't know he was mature enough to handle a relationship," he muttered to himself, but set the ring down on his work bench. He then reached inside the pocket to take the other thing that was stored inside, which happened to be a picture. "What..." he turned the photo over and stopped in his tracks. In the picture, Grayson was holding a familiar redhead in his arms, both of them smiling lovingly at each other and didn't seem to notice the person taking the picture. Bruce blinked rapidly and turned the photo back over, squinting at the small letters he had noticed before.

'Always remember what you're leaving behind before you do something stupid. I love you, Pixie Boots. -Barb'

Bruce's eyes widened, and the picture fluttered out of his hands and landed near the engagement ring. The other universe's Barbara was romantically involved with Nightwing? She was _engaged_ to him?

That changed everything. While Bruce had been determined to send Grayson back, he was now never going to rest until he was back where he came from. Because even though Bruce's partner was dead and gone, another universe had one just like her, and she was probably awaiting her fiance's return. And Bruce wasn't going to let her lose someone so important to her. The girl he thought of as a daughter would not have her heart broken because he couldn't send her boyfriend back.

"Release Nightwing," he said into his comm, frowning down at the picture. "I think we'll need his help in getting crucial technology from the Court of Owls."

 _"Look Bats, I don't think he'll be in the mood for breaking into another warehouse, especially not with us. He hated us, remember?"_ It was Green Arrow on the other side _. "Besides, I don't think he'll be very motivated at the moment, what with the other kid being dead and all."_

"Well I have a perfect way to motivate him to return to everyone else he has left behind," Bruce said, and flipped his cowl over his eyes. "It's time we take action. The Resistance may have brainwashed him into hating us before, but we can change his mind by sending him back to his Earth."

 _"What do you mean they brainwashed him?" It was Flash this time._

"...I think you're nephew might have gotten into his head. He started to get into Kaldur's too. By the time he came back to us, his thoughts were so disoriented that he already started to believe that we're a group of murderers."

 _"...Damn it, Wallace."_


	9. Chapter 9

"Damian? Damian, please wake up..." Someone murmured next to him, and Damian struggled to force his eyelids open. Everything hurt, and the pain in his body made it difficult for his limbs to cooperate. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to allow himself a few more minutes of sleep... "Damian, no! You have to wake up!"

That voice... He could recognize that voice from anywhere. "Grayson?" His eyes finally obeyed his command, and he blearily blinked up at the hazy figure beside him. "What happened?"

"You were poisoned," Grayson told him gently, but there was something off about his tone. "The Resistance saved us before the League could capture us. We're at the safe house right now. Do you remember where that is?"

Immediately, the hair on the back of Damian's neck stood on end. There was something wrong about the way Grayson worded that, something that reminded Damian of a type of interrogation tactic. "The Resistance has many safe houses, Grayson..." he said slowly, propping himself on his elbows. "I cannot name all of them at once."

"I have to make sure the poison hasn't effected your memory," Grayson gave him a small smile, but again there was something _off_ about it. "What safe house were we staying at before? You have to at least remember that."

"...We stayed in the site under Gotham Bridge," he finally said, eyeing Grayson suspiciously. "Is that where we are now?"

"We had to relocate. West didn't want us staying in one place for too long, just in case the Owls started snooping around," Grayson said smoothly. "I'm glad you remember, Damian. That should help us identify all of your symptoms and eliminate them." He stood, giving him another half smile. "Rest up and I'll fill you in on the rest later, alright?"

"...You're not Grayson." Damian sat up, glaring at the Grayson look alike. "My Grayson would have continued needlessly fussing over me for another half hour, would have used a childish nickname at least twice, wouldn't have ever called West by his last name..." he scowled. "And he would have known that there is no safe house under Gotham Bridge."

The friendly smile that 'Grayson' wore twisted into a smirk. "Well well well, looks like you inherited your father's famous detective skills, huh? Bravo!" He clapped at him mockingly, icy blue eyes gleaming in the dim light of the dark room that Damian had been brought to. "You shouldn't have such an attitude towards the man who saved your life. If it wasn't for me, you would be buried under a pile of rubble back at one of our bases."

"That was your mistake, thinking that saving me would make me give away any information on the Resistance," Damian spat.

"Disappointing. I thought you of all people might me interested in joining us, Damian." He shrugged. "But I guess ex assassins aren't as reliable as I was led to believe."

"I have changed," Damian said harshly, shakily pushing himself up to unsteady legs. "My father has shown me the error of my ways, he has taught me how much value is in every life. And _my_ Grayson taught me much as well." He averted his eyes. "I thought he was wrong to influence me into goofing off and playing unnecessary games, but I now see the value in that as well. Unlike you, I know that there is more to life than just killing people who get in your way."

'Grayson' chuckled, shaking his head as though he had just heard the stupidest joke in the world. "How inspirational, Damian. Your Grayson must have done a number on you to twist your beliefs like that." Damian began to protest, but Grayson continued before he could. "I can't say that I blame you; I was once like your adoptive brother. I once thought there was more to this life than darkness, that cheering people up with jokes and games was my destiny... but I was wrong. There is no room for fun in a world ran by selfish humans. Even the people you think you trust will eventually turn against you. I have seen it, my fellow Owls have seen it..." he smirked. "You saw it too, when Renegade betrayed you during our battle."

"A man who works for Deathstroke is not someone to be trusted," Damian said firmly. "Grayson and I simply made an error in judgement."

"Ah... But Grayson has betrayed you as well, hasn't he?" 'Grayson' tilted his head in a falsely childish way. "Did you know that he too has worked for Deathstroke?" Damian's eyes widened, and that made Grayson's smirk grow. "You didn't, did you? I suppose you didn't know that he became his apprentice willingly, did you? Or that he killed innocent people while he was his underling?"

"...You're lying." Damian shook his head, angered by the way this Grayson was trying to manipulate him. Well it wasn't going to work, not on him. "Grayson would never kill _anyone_ , not even a villain. And he would never willingly associate himself with the likes of Deathstroke. If he ever worked for him, it was not by choice."

"You really don't know him as well as you thought, do you? That must hurt, knowing that the man you think of as your second father has been keeping such secrets from you..." He clicked his tongue. "At least _I'm_ honest."

Damian's anger flared. "If you are as honest as you claim, then why don't you tell me why you betrayed the Justice System by becoming a Talon?!"

Grayson stared at him for a moment, smirk fading away. "...I didn't join them willingly," he said, tone soft. "None of us did. The Court of Owls offers money and supplies to any family that gives up their children to the Court. I never thought I would be given away, my parents always treated me like they loved me more than anything in the world... But I was wrong. They gave me away to keep the Circus alive.

"At first, I was sad. I spent all of the hours of training just crying as I was forced to learn how to wield a sword and shoot a gun. I thought it was my fault that my parents had abandoned me. I became the worst trainee in the entire Court, and eventually the Owls decided that I wasn't fit for training just yet. So... they sent me back to the Circus until I was ready.

"Before I made it back home, I was ecstatic to see my family again. I thought that maybe once they saw me again, they would change their minds about getting rid of me, and they would tell the Court that they wanted me back..." He paused. "Again, I was wrong. When I returned, I finally realized that I meant nothing to the people I called my family; they already had a new child in the act, my little brother named 'Robin,'" he sneered. "They didn't even notice that I had returned. All they did was coo over their new son, the one that had stolen what was once _my_ nickname...

"After I saw what had happened, I left the Circus without a word, and I hunted down the Court of Owls and demanded that they continued training me. They were skeptical at first, but they were surprised when I suddenly developed the determination I needed to become one of the best trainees in my class." He smirked. "And later, the greatest Talon in all of history. I guess that when I realized that this world was nothing more than a bunch of selfish people pitted against each other in battle, my morality didn't matter to me anymore. There's no good or bad, there is only survival, and I'm more than capable of surviving now that I'm here."

"So instead of trying to change the selfish nature of this world, you gave into it?!" Damian snapped, mostly unaffected by his sob story. "You are no better than your parents if you continue on this path."

"I know. Why would I try to change this world if my actions will not have a result? I would simply be eliminated by those who do not want this system to change. Why try when I know that there is no chance of success?"

Damian frowned at this, and tried to take a different approach. "My Grayson has told me stories of his parents, and I cannot imagine there was ever a moment when they would do something so ghastly to their own child. There must have been a misunderstanding."

There was a chuckle. "My counterpart's parents were killed right in front of him. When someone dies, we tend to look at their good qualities and totally disregard the bad. Your Grayson only believes his parents were saints because he was so traumatized by their deaths that he could only remember the good times he had spent with him. Because trust me, my parents were not all good."

Damian found that he was running out of things to argue against; Grayson _did_ have a point. "This world _has_ to have good people in it, it cannot only have those who are selfish..." He said, mostly to himself than Grayson. This was all so confusing, having to convince another version of his annoying brother that the world that he lived in wasn't all bad, even though Damian had only seen what Grayson was now describing.

"Hard, isn't it? Trying to find good qualities that don't exist." He snorted. "Even you aliens from the alternate dimension are selfish; you're not here to help us, you only want to return to your own little world. Well newsflash, humans are naturally selfish. And while your world might be better than ours now, it won't be long before yours falls into a similar state of chaos. That's what humanity _does_ , it tears apart the world until there's nothing left." He suddenly let out a yawn, stretching his arms over his head. "As fun as this little lesson was, I'm tired. It was nice talking to you, _Robin_." He gave him a brief smirk before turning around, leaving the dark room without so much as a glance in his direction. When the door opened, Damian was briefly able to see the dark red walls of his room, and the toilet and sink in the corner, but when the door closed he was brought back into eery darkness.

And strangely... the first thought that Damian had was how much he missed _his_ Grayson.


End file.
